Arsenal Transfer News: Fresh Rumours, Major Stars Targeted and Linked to Gunners

Alexandre Lacazette has been offered a new contract by Olympique Lyonnais as the French club attempts to ward off interest from Arsenal, who would have to pay "€50 million (£42.2 million) at least" to sign the striker, who wants to move to the Premier League, according to Jason Burt of the Daily Telegraph.

Burt also noted how Arsenal are preparing a second bid for Lacazette, worth £35 million, but the offer is "expected to be turned down."

The onus may be on Lacazette to force the hand of Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas, who is standing firm about the €50 million fee Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is "unlikely" to pay, per Burt:

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Crucially, sources close to Lacazette have revealed to Telegraph Sport that the striker is strongly interested in the move and wants to go, although it remains to be seen whether he can resist Lyon's attempts to offer their highest-paid player another extended contract.

It would appear unlikely that Arsenal would bid as high as €50 million but privately Aulas has made it clear he will not accept anything less for Lacazette who, although he wants to leave, is not expected to push for a move in public.

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This a complex saga sure to rumble on during the remaining weeks of this summer's transfer window. It's not only dependent on Arsenal and Lyon, either, with both Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain also potentially involved.

Specifically, Jese Rodriguez's future with Los Blancos could affect Arsenal's pursuit of Lacazette. The former has emerged as a prime target for Ligue 1 giants PSG, who view Jese as their "priority" over Lacazette, per L'Equipe (h/t Get French Football News).

That could leave the door open for the Gunners to sign the French attacker, providing Wenger returns with another bid. There have already been conflicting reports about Arsenal's next step regarding convincing Lyon to sell.

L'Equipe stated how Jese has "surpassed" Lacazette on PSG's wishlist, with the club's new management naturally playing a decisive role in the decision (h/t Get French Football News): "Laurent Blanc and Olivier Letang preferred Alexandre Lacazette, Unai Emery and Patrick Kluivert appear to prefer Jese."

Andres Kudacki/Associated Press

The same report also noted how negotiating with French top-flight rivals Lyon may prove too tricky for PSG, with the capital-city club also likely to balk at the fee Aulas is demanding for his 25-year-old marquee attacker.

PSG recently got a firsthand glimpse of Jese during a pre-season friendly. Afterward, Real manager Zinedine Zidane didn't play down talk the forward, who has also been linked with Arsenal and Liverpool, could be leaving this summer, per Metro's George Bellshaw: "If he wants to leave to play more, I don’t know."

All of this could leave Arsenal with a clear path to Lacazette. Yet it all depends on Wenger's willingness to test the waters again.

MANU FERNANDEZ/Associated Press

Aulas recently indicated his belief Wenger will look elsewhere, according to Dev Trehan of Sky Sports: "Arsenal have not come back and will not come back. No one will leave Lyon."

Still, the Daily Telegraph's Jeremy Wilson reported on Friday that Arsenal will bid again, this time making an offer of £35 million for Lacazette. Lyon previously released a club statement saying they had rejected an earlier Arsenal bid of around £29.4 million (h/t Tom Dutton of the London Evening Standard).

Squawka's Nic English viewed this as Aulas trying to force Wenger's hand, though:

The more tangled this particular transfer web becomes, the easier it is to believe Arsenal's interest is genuine. Wenger and the Gunners rarely have it easy in the market, and Aulas is a notoriously tough negotiator, so it makes sense things would become so muddled.

It's also telling that the rumour mill is quiet in terms of Arsenal's pursuit of a striker. That's odd considering how much Wenger's squad needs reinforcements up front, particularly given the erratic form of target man Olivier Giroud and Danny Welbeck's long-term injury.

Ongoing links with Lacazette and the mooted interest in Jese at least show the type of forward Wenger is anxious to recruit this summer. He is obviously keen on adding roving attackers with the pace to play between the lines and provide a quicker foil for the vision of chief playmaker Mesut Ozil.

It's the role Theo Walcott was entrusted with at the start of last season. However, not for the first time, Walcott's inconsistency let his manager down.

Still, Wenger clearly remains intent on crafting a faster forward line, one that could help the Gunners absorb pressure and strike on the break more often. Lacazette is an excellent fit for this strategy, and Wenger may have little choice but to play Aulas' game before the transfer window slams shut on August 31.