Arsenal have made their second signing of the summer transfer window in the form of long-time target and one of the finest striker in the whole of Europe, Alexandre Lacazette. The French striker has been brought into the North London outfit at a club record signing of £45 million, which might go up to £52 million over the course of his contract, eclipsing the £42.5 million paid for the acquisition of the German midfielder Mesut Ozil from Real Madrid in 2014.
The player has been one of the best marksmen in the recent history of his former club Lyon in the French Ligue 1. He has scored a total of 129 goals in 275 appearances for the French outfit and has been playing for a single club so far in his career before finally taking the decision to join Arsenal for the next season.
However, the decision was delayed as, reportedly, Arsenal were not considered as the first choice club for the 26-year-old striker, who was preferably looking to make a move to the Spanish La Liga club Atletico Madrid. As per speculations, he had even agreed verbally for the move, which did not realise as the Spanish outfit was banned from dealing in the summer transfer market by the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS).
Arsenal have been wary of the fact that they might have to let go of their talismanic forward Alexis Sanchez, who has denied penning a new contract, with his current contract with the North London club ending in the next 12 months. The Chilean marksman has been linked with a move to a number of clubs, with Arsenal’s Premier League rivals Manchester City and German giants Bayern Munich leading the race to bag the player for the next season.
However, now with the inclusion of the in-form striker Lacazette from Lyon, Arsenal can now boast of a solid strike force that can make any top class defence go haywire on any given day.
The North London club have not only looked to strengthen their attack, but also their backline with the inclusion of left wing back Sead Kolasinac from German side Schalke as their first signing for the summer transfer window on a free transfer deal. The Bosnian full-back has been one of the most highly regarded players in the Bundesliga and is expected to make an impact in the Premier League as well.
The line-up for the Gunners in the new season can look like this (3-4-2-1)
Cech, Holding, Koscielny, Mustafi, Bellerin, Ramsey, Xhaka, Kolasinac, Ozil, Sanchez, Lacazette
