Alexandre Lacazette's New Lyon Contract Means Arsenal Must Sign Karim Benzema

Alexandre Lacazette's new contract with Lyon will come as a blow to Arsenal, and the north London club must now ensure their reported deal for Karim Benzema goes through if they are to stand a chance of winning the Premier League title.

The Mirror's Aaron Flanagan confirmed the Arsenal target would be staying in France for the foreseeable future.

"People can stop talking about me," the Frenchman said. "Now I hope we will talk about me only because I am scoring goals and winning games with Lyon. The team is growing, there is the Champions League, there is [a new stadium] and therefore there is no reason to leave."

The Gunners have now set their sights on Benzema, per the Telegraph, citing Spanish newspaper AS, and having missed out on Lacazette, they must land his signature.

Daniel Ochoa de Olza/Associated Press

Though boss Arsene Wenger has already made a significant inroad to challenging for the title by signing world-class goalkeeper Petr Cech, the Gunners need a top-quality striker to share Olivier Giroud's workload before they can rival the likes of Chelsea.

Lacazette's pace, dribbling and cool finishing made him a perfect candidate, but Benzema is an equally, if not more, impressive option.

Benzema demonstrated his prolific play by scoring 22 goals in all competitions last season as well as showing off his creative side by adding 11 assists.

WhoScored.com highlighted the 27-year-old's incredible goal contributions, while Opta Jose illustrated how other players have thrived off Benzema's selflessness:

Sports journalist Jonas Giaever noted the impact the striker could have on Arsenal:

"

Benzema is on the way somewhere it seems. If it's North London then I think that places Arsenal firmly in the title picture this season.

— Jonas Giæver (@CheGiaevara) July 28, 2015"

Club legend Thierry Henry is of a similar opinion. Speaking on Sky Sports, he said the following:

"

Yes, Arsenal would win the league. I think if you get Benzema, not only will you challenge for the league, but you also challenge for the Champions League.

They need that type of striker who can be different to Olivier Giroud. Him alone as a striker all season, he is very good at what he does but you need to have that type of striker who can stretch a defence, a guy that can go in behind.

"

Indeed, Benzema provides a contrast in style to that of Giroud. As the table below demonstrates, courtesy of Squawka, the former is more comfortable in possession and running at players with the ball at his feet than Giroud is, albeit less powerful in the air:

Category	Giroud	Benzema
Goals	14	15
Assists	3	10
Chances Created	28	44
Passing Accuracy	68	79
Successful Take-Ons	7	32
Aerial Duels Won	99	21

Giroud is undoubtedly a key a player for the Gunners, but they need more strength in depth and another forward to share goalscoring responsibilities with the Frenchman and Alexis Sanchez.

Danny Welbeck and Theo Walcott are also capable of pitching in with goals. However, Welbeck's total of four Premier League goals last season shows that he isn't prolific enough to be relied upon.

Further, the debate over Walcott's suitability as a centre-forward continues to rage on, not to mention his struggles with injuries in recent years.

Kirsty Wigglesworth/Associated Press

With Benzema in the side, Arsenal would have a number of outstanding forward options who each bring their own skill sets to the front line.

This would allow the Gunners to compete meaningfully on multiple fronts and arguably give them the overall best trio of forwards in the Premier League. 

It seems like Arsenal are edging closer to striking a deal for the world-class striker, but with Lacazette no longer an option, they must push through the transfer.

If they don't, it will almost certainly be another year of competing only for the top four in the league.