Lyon have moved to end speculation over the future of Arsenal target Alexandre Lacazette by insisting that their star striker is not for sale.
A reported asking price of £60million for Lacazette would be too steep for Arsene Wenger, who submitted a bid worth around half of that figure earlier in the summer.
However Wenger has made clear that he remains open to bringing in the sort of quality and experienced addition that Lacazette would constitute, having already seen Arsenal fail in moves for Jamie Vardy and Gonzalo Higuain in a summer that has descended into a familiar tale of frustration after Granit Xhaka’s £33.8m arrival before the window had opened.
Lyon, though, remain loath to part with Lacazette, who has scored five goals in his first two matches this season.
Club president Jean-Michel Aulas said: “Lacazette will stay with us.”
Aulas’ comments come just days after Lacazette himself had confirmed his intention to stay in Ligue 1, despite extensive links to both Arsenal and West Ham, saying there would “no departure” from Lyon.
With Danny Welbeck unavailable until Christmas and Olivier Giroud yet to rediscover his match sharpness Wenger has been forced to deploy Alexis Sanchez up front, a position in which the Chile international is yet to impress.
