Arsenal Transfer News: Alexandre Lacazette Bid Rejected, Latest Gunners Rumours

Arsenal have had a €35 million (£29.4 million) bid for Lyon striker Alexandre Lacazette rejected.

The Ligue 1 outfit confirmed (h/t Get French Football News) on Tuesday that they have dismissed an advance from the Gunners for their 25-year-old star forward:

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is clearly looking to add more firepower to his attack, which is spearheaded by the inconsistent Olivier Giroud, but the north London side will have to return with a bigger offer if they want to snap up Frenchman Lacazette.

Giroud has only once in his career managed to net more than 20 goals in a top-flight season, and never has he managed it for Arsenal—he returned 21 Ligue 1 goals for Montpellier back in 2011-12, per WhoScored.com.

Conversely, Lacazette has netted more than 20 times in both the last two Ligue 1 campaigns, just one of a number of reasons why Lyon clearly feel they can demand a bigger fee from Arsenal, per football commentator Adam Summerton:

Arsenal need a prolific striker if they are going to launch a genuine Premier League title challenge, and Lacazette would be a fine addition given the dearth of top strikers available—former Gunners target Gonzalo Higuain is on the verge of a move to Juventus, per Sky Italy (via Sky Sports' Chris McRae).

Per Squawka's Nic English, Lyon chairman Jean-Michel Aulas' public rejection of Arsenal's offer is likely to infuriate Wenger, and could even lead to the Gunners ending their pursuit of Lacazette:

It would surely be unwise of Arsenal to do that, as the Lyon youth product is a high-quality goalscorer and finisher and can link up well with other attacking players—a front three of Lacazette, Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez at the Emirates would be deadly.

Lyon's valuation of Lacazette is reportedly around £40 million, a reasonable asking price in the current market and more than affordable for a club of Arsenal's stature, per Steve Stammers of the Mirror.

Should Arsenal drop their interest in Lacazette after having their initial bid rejected, they would be left facing the prospect of another season relying on Giroud, 29, to score the goals to propel them to the title—a tactic that has failed for the last four seasons.

Lionel Cironneau/Associated Press

Alternatively, Wenger could bring in a relative unknown to bolster his strike force, potentially Toulouse's Wissam Ben Yedder, with whom the Gunners have been linked in France, per Metro's Tom Olver.

French football expert Andrew Gibney described him as a "Wenger-type player," per Bleacher Report UK:

The 25-year-old Yedder has been consistently decent over the last four seasons in Ligue 1 for Toulouse, but his best return for a campaign is 17 goals in 2015-16, a similarly unspectacular record to Giroud's in the Premier League, per WhoScored.com.

Arsenal need to upgrade from Giroud if they are to win the title again, and Lacazette could be the key, thus they surely must maintain their interest in him despite having had a bid rejected.