Arsenal could miss out on Lacazette as Atletico Madrid offer more

If Arsenal want to land Lyon striker Alexandre Lacazette they'll have to come in with a higher bid than Atletico Madrid, according to the Daily Express.

The paper claims that the Gunners were "hopeful of finalising a £44m [€48m] deal for him next week" but the 26-year-old French frontman is also wanted by the Spanish outfit and they're currently in pole position to win his hand.

According to French sports daily L'Equipe, Lyon president Jean Michel Aulas has revealed that Madrid's offer is "€53m plus €12m in bonuses" and that as a result he believes Lacazette will be heading to Spain before long.

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Perhaps that's why the Gunners are said to be negotiating hard to persuade Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to sign a new deal. Last week rumours emerged linking the England winger to Liverpool and Chelsea but The Sun claims that Arsenal "want to tie £30m-rated Ox to a new deal to fend off interest" from his suitors.

Preliminary talks were held last week in the hope of reaching an agreement over a new deal that would see him receive an increase to his current £70,000-a-week salary. Wenger covets Oxlade-Chamberlain, says the Sun, and is ready to offer him £100,000-a-week as a sign of his respect. Similarly, Wenger is poised to step up his efforts to persuade Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil to extend their contracts that are set to expire in June 2018.

But has Wenger finally given up the ghost on signing Kylian Mbappe from Monaco? The Daily Star says that the Nutty Professor is close to calling off the chase for the 18-year-old sensation, and he's already lining up another target - Manchester United's Anthony Martial.

The 21-year-old struggled in his second season at old Trafford, and there have been rumours suggesting he wanted out after slipping down the pecking order behind Marcus Rashford and Henrikh Mkhitaryan. United are ready to listen to offers although Arsenal will have to come up with a fee that matches the £36m they paid Monaco for Martial in 2015.

But according to website Goal.com, the frontman on the Gunners radar is actually AC Milan striker M'Baye Niang, who "is hoping Arsenal will make him an offer".

He had been linked to Everton but Italian outlet Calciomercato.com says that move has "stalled" with Niang preferring a move to the Emirates over one to Goodison Park.