Rumours have spread fast about Barcelona’s interest in Arsenal’s danger man, Alexandre Lacazette. Obviously, it would not be the first time the Spanish giants nabbed a key player from The Emirates, with Thierry Henry, Cesc Fabregas, Alex Song and Thomas Vermaelen on a list of many others who have made the move in the past. And, of course, Arsenal have always recovered from those transfers, but this could be a particularly damaging one, at least in the short term.
As we head towards the final match of the season, in which the Gunners have a chance to claim a Champions League berth with a win over city rivals Chelsea in the Europa League final, three goals for Lacazette in the Europa League semi-finals highlight how important he is to the team; not to mention his 19 goals across all competitions, which pushed the Gunners to name him their Player of the Year.
A fifth-place finish in Unai Emery’s first season is disappointing considering major rivals Tottenham finished above them without spending in the last two transfer windows, but earning a Champions League spot could certainly sweeten the end to their season. It is safe to say that the Frenchman has done a lot to help secure Arsenal’s reasonable 30/1 premier league winner odds for next season. So clearly no one at the Emirates will want to see him go, but with Barcelona’s massive rumoured offer of £70m, it would be unlikely for the deal not to go through if it is indeed offered.
When Lacazette is playing alongside Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mesut Özil, the North London side look extremely difficult to stop. Their combined speed, skill and precision can break just about any defence as long as they are all on form and have enough support at the back to play the fearless brand of football that suits them so well. It is a combination that has really started paying dividends for the Gunners, and to see it fall apart because of a big offer from Barcelona would be frustrating and disappointing at best, and extremely damaging at worst.
Barcelona’s Luis Suarez: ”Antoine Griezmann is welcome at Camp Nou”
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— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) May 5, 2018
But it is one of Lacazette’s national teammates who may be able to stop this from happening. Barcelona have set their sights on signing Antoine Griezmann from Atletico Madrid, with Lacazette as their back-up option if that deal fails to go through. Griezmann’s release clause will drop by about £70m on July 1, which is one of the reasons Barcelona have renewed their interest in the French phenomenon, having had their offer rejected by him last year. It is impossible to say whether he will take the deal, but from Arsenal’s perspective, it would be very useful if he did.
Of course, all this is not to say that Arsenal will not find a good replacement for the 27-year-old if he does decide to head south to Barcelona; it is just to say it will not be an easy process, and there will be some difficult questions to answer during the coming months.
Lacazette has become a much-loved member of this Arsenal side, not to mention one of the best-attacking assets, and it would be very sad to see him make a move.
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