Arsenal opted against renewing striker Alexandre Lacazette’s contract.
Lacazette, 31, will be out of contract at the Emirates at the end of the month and that will now pave the way for the French striker to move clubs.
Despite a lot of speculation over where Lacazette will play next season, according to a recent report from French outlet L’Equipe, the 31-year-old has agreed to re-join Ligue 1 side, Lyon.
The summer transfer window of 2017 saw Lacazette depart Lyon in favour of a switch to Arsenal in a deal worth just shy of £50m.
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However, after scoring 14 Premier League goals during his opening campaign at the Emirates, Lacazette failed to reach the same number, or better, during his next four campaigns.
Now set to leave the club he has spent the last five years at, Lacazette’s time in England’s top flight will largely be remembered as a bit of a hit and miss spell.
Lacazette to leave Arsenal in favour of move back to Lyon
Despite giving an interview to Canal Plus recently (as quoted by the Mirror) and stating his desire to play in the Champions League, a competition Arsenal failed to qualify for next season, Lacazette appears to have chosen Lyon as his next destination despite the French club missing out on European football altogether.
“I am in discussions with a lot of clubs. I want to play in Europe, it’s been a long time since I played in the Champions League, I’m missing it. It’s a little more complicated, nothing is impossible in life, but it’s a little more complicated,” Lacazette said in April.
Nevertheless though, clearly on the decline and falling further and further out of favour with manager Mikel Arteta, this summer will give the experienced forward a chance to return to his old stomping ground and to ply his trade back in Ligue 1 – a league he previously dominated.