It wouldn’t be Arsenal if they didn’t have at least one striker with a contract that was running down, but you have to wonder if lessons have been learned from the Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang situation.
In recent years they lost Alexis Sanchez and Robin van Persie for well below their market value due to contract situations, but they went the other way with Aubameyang as he signed a new three-year deal which is reported to be worth around £55m to him.
That was a huge commitment to a striker the wrong side of 30 who’s largely reliant on pace, while off-the-field issues last year also seemed to hamper his form.
They now face a similar scenario with Alexandre Lacazette who’s 30 and set to be out of contract at the end of the season, and a report from Calciomercato has indicated that he’s actively been offered to AC Milan.
It doesn’t sound like anything is close in terms of a new contract with the Gunners, but it’s also suggested that he earns €9m each year at Arsenal and Milan have an upper limit of €5m if he does come in.
You never want to lose a quality player for free but it could also be risky for Arsenal to commit to paying big first-team wages to two strikers who are on the back-end of their careers, and it does look like a transfer is likely this summer for the Frenchman.