Arsenal Transfer News: Update on Alexandre Lacazette and Bruno Peres Rumours

Arsenal are preparing to launch an improved bid for Lyon striker Alexandre Lacazette, with the club set to increase their offer to £35 million, according to Dave Fraser of the Sun.

The north Londoners reportedly had a £29.5 million bid for the French attacker turned down by the Ligue 1 outfit this week but are prepared to test Lyon's resolve with a higher transfer figure.

Per Dev Trehan of Sky Sports, Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas has previously claimed the France international is not for sale; however, Gunners manager Arsene Wenger is insistent on pushing through an enhanced proposal in order to improve his attacking options.

Laurent Cipriani/Associated Press

Despite claims from outlets—such as Fraser—that Arsenal will return with a better offer for the prolific goalscorer, Aulas believes Wenger's attention has moved on from the 25-year-old. Per Trehan, Aulas was quoted as saying: "Arsenal have not come back and will not come back. No-one will leave Lyon."

French football writer Matt Spiro believes Wenger is being unnecessarily frugal with his bids:

Per Sean Kearns of Metro, Lacazette has reportedly made his intentions clear to the French club, stating his eagerness to move across the Channel to the English capital. Per Soccerway, the striker suffered a back injury in the buildup to the 2015-16 campaign but returned to action in sensational form. According to WhoScored.com, Lacazette scored 21 league goals last term to take his total to 48 Ligue 1 strikes in 67 appearances.

WhoScored.com highlight the statistics behind Lacazette's allure:

Meanwhile OptaJoe note how Lacazette's impressive goalscoring is not over the short term:

Arsenal fans are desperate for Wenger to add to his ranks ahead of the new Premier League season. The summer started with bright optimism for supporters after sealing a £34 million deal early on for Granit Xhaka from Borussia Monchengladbach, per Lyall Thomas of Sky Sports.

However, despite recruiting Japan international Takuma Asano and 20-year-old defender Rob Holding from Bolton Wanderers, last season's runners-up have failed to make headway in the window.

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After triggering Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy's release clause of £22 million in June, the club were stunned by the news the England international had rejected the option to depart the King Power Stadium, per Stuart James of the Guardian.

Similarly, Wenger also missed out on long-term target Gonzalo Higuain after the Argentina attacker left Napoli for Serie A champions Juventus for £75.3 million, making him the third-most expensive signing of all time, per Tom Olver of Metro.

TheOddsBible highlighted the profligacy of Arsenal's forwards when compared to the direct Frenchman: 

Following Arsenal's 2-1 pre-season victory over MLS All-Stars, the Gunners boss Wenger admitted to a press conference he was still in the market for a forward, per Jefferson Lake of Sky Sports. 

"At the moment I have not too many attacking options in terms of experienced players," Wenger told reporters after his team's victory in San Jose, California. 

"But let's not forget we still have a few players at home. There are also a few players who did not play, like [Santi] Cazorla and of course [Mesut] Ozil and [Aaron] Ramsey are at home. [Olivier] Giroud is also not here. So we have options but we will still look outside to find one more."

Several clubs, including Arsenal, are looking to add to their defensive resilience with an offer for Torino defender Bruno Peres, according to Gazzetta World's Marc Mayo.

Alessandro Di MArco/Associated Press

Per Dominic King of MailOnline, central defensive stalwart Per Mertesacker has been ruled out for five months after picking up a knee injury in training, forcing Wenger to browse the market for a replacement ahead of the new Premier League season.

According to Mayo, preliminary talks have begun between the two clubs, with Arsenal scouts watching on from the stands in Torino's friendly draw with Benfica on Wednesday evening. The Italians are expected to demand €20 million (£16.9 million) for the versatile defender, who can play as a right-back or marauding wing-back.