A lot of fans don’t really like it when their club is run like a business at the expense of sporting ambition, but you usually need to make some tough decisions if you want to improve and build.
Arsenal have the perfect example with Alexandre Lacazette as he’s about to enter the final year of his deal, so it leaves them with a big decision to make.
If you look at what he brings to the team, he’s an experienced forward who can play in a few different positions, while he’s been an important part of the team so there’s a lot to like about him if you’re an Arsenal fan.
Unfortunately the club doesn’t have a lot of money to spare just now, so decisions will need to be made from a business point of view and it means that Lacazette may need to move on.
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He’s turning 30 in the summer so he’s possibly in his final prime years, while it’s likely that he’ll want a few years on a contract extension which could take him past his prime, and he’s unlikely to have any sell-on value at that point either.
It might be a difficult decision, but the smart choice here is to cash in on him and reinvest that money on a younger player who could become even better, and a report from Football.London has indicated that’s what the Gunners decide to do.
They confirm that it’s the last chance to cash in on him so he is expected to leave this summer, but it will depend on someone offering a decent fee to take him away.
He’s always achieved double figures for goals in his four seasons at the club so he’s going to be a tough player to replace, but it’s something the club needs to do if they want to develop and grow going forward.
He also suffers from Aubameyang entering the final years of his career and the last thing the club need is to find themselves in a situation in two or three years when both players need to be replaced with no fee coming in, so that could play a part in the decision here too.