In perhaps the least surprising development of the summer so far, Arsenal have been priced out of the race for Kylian Mbappe.
The shock news comes from the Daily Express, which reports that Monaco have upped their asking price to £130m, a figure that Arsene Wenger won't pay despite his desperation to land the teenage sensation.
So instead, says the Daily Star, the Gunners are once again "closing in on the signing of Alexandre Lacazette", the Lyon frontman who has been linked with a move to the Emirates for nearly two years.
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The Star says that the 26-year-old has "announced his intention to leave Lyon" and all that remains is for the two clubs to agree the terms of his transfer. It's believed that a fee of £50m has been agreed and personal terms are now being discussed between Lacazette and the Gunners. And the Star says one consequence of the Lyon star's signing will be the departure of Olivier Giroud with West Ham his most likely destination.
Meanwhile, Goal.com claims that Arsenal have made Stoke City's Jack Butland "their number one goalkeeping target" as they face up to life after Petr Cech.
Sources within the club suspect that this coming season will be Cech's last in top-flight football and the Gunners believe the Stoke gloveman has the skill set to be their man between the sticks for many years to come. The north London outfit will try and sign the 24-year-old England international this summer because Cech's current understudy, David Ospina, is poised to leave the club with The Sun saying the South American is close to agreeing terms with Turkish giants Fenerbahce, although LA Galaxy may pip them with an 11th hour bid in the region of £3m.
Arsenal refuse to give up on Mbappe after France display
16 June
Have Arsenal found the magic formula to spirit Kylian Mbappe out of Monaco? The Sun believes so with the paper reporting that such is Arsene Wenger's desperation to sign the 18-year-old wonderkid he's "set to offer a second world-record bid of more than £100m and Olivier Giroud".
It seems that Wenger was enthralled by Mbappe's display during France's 3-2 defeat of England on Tuesday and he's decided the only way to prise the youngster from Monaco is to offer them a huge pile of cash - plus one of France's most experienced frontmen.
Wenger knows he faces stiff competition for Mbappe from Real Madrid, who apparently have offered Monaco £118m, and so he's willing to throw in Giroud, who has recently been valued at around £30m. The move would suit Giroud, who's become increasingly disillusioned at the Emirates in recent months due to his lack of game-time, and according to the Sun the Gunners gaffer is "confident" Monaco will accept his offer.
Another forward heading towards the Emirates exit is Lucas Perez with the Evening Standard reporting that Sevilla have made enquiries. The Spanish striker is set to quit Arsenal a year after his £17m move from Deportivo La Coruna and although the Standard says the Gunners "want to recoup the majority of the fee they paid last year" they also recognise that he hasn't been given a fair crack of the whip under Wenger and want to help him find another club as quickly as possible.
"The idea is to be able to play for another club," said agent Rodrigo Fernandez Lovelle. "We want to leave and Arsenal already know."
