Think Alexandre Lacazette is doing well and his future will be decided at end of season, reveals Mikel Arteta
Arteta praises Lacazette and provides update on striker's future
|Twitter Images
Mikel Arteta asserted that he is happy with Alexandre Lacazette’s contributions in recent weeks and proclaimed that a final decision on the French striker’s future at the Emirates Stadium will be made at the conclusion of the campaign. Lacazette’s current deal is set to expire in the summer.
Alexandre Lacazette signed for Arsenal in the summer of 2017 from Lyon for a then club-record fee of an initial €53 million plus up to €7 million (£6.1 million) in potential bonuses.
The French striker has proved his goalscoring prowess for the Gunners through his stint at the club as he has scored 129 goals and registered 43 assists in 275 appearances across all competitions. The 30-year-old was featured sparingly in the starting XI at Arsenal in the early stages of the current season but has taken on a more important role as club captain and leading frontman after the departure of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
The Frenchman scored a game-winning goal against Wolves in the Premier League two weeks ago and followed that up with two assists in the London club’s 3-2 victory over Watford on Sunday. The Arsenal captain’s contract expires in the summer and talks of a new deal have not been discussed by both parties. Arteta has admitted that Lacazette’s future will be determined in a meeting at the end of the season.
“I think he’s had really good moments in terms of goal-scoring records, probably better than what he’s doing right now, but for what we ask of him and for what I ask of him and the contribution that I need from him, I think he’s doing really, really well,” Arteta told reporters in his post-match press conference.
“It is the case. I said to you, at the end of the season where we know where we are, we’ll sit down with those three players [out-of-contract] and between all of us, we’ll decide what we do to move forward,” he added.
