It's official. Alexandre Lacazette has finally become Arsenal's record signing, joining from Lyon in a deal which the Daily Mail says "could be worth up to £53m" with £7m in add-ons on top of the £46m fee.
Having completed his medical at Arsenal's training centre in Hertfordshire on Tuesday, the Lyon frontman then put pen to paper on Wednesday and signed a five-year deal that makes him the club's record signing, surpassing the £42.5m that Arsenal paid for Mesut Ozil in 2013.
The Mail says that Lacazette will link up with his new teammates for a pre-season tour to Australia and China next week.
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Arsene Wenger was cock-a-hoop at the signing, telling the official Arsenal website: "We are very happy to have Alexandre join our group. He has shown over a number of years that he can score goals and that he is a very efficient finisher… he is a guy who is a great addition for us, and someone who will help us challenge at the top level this season."
Lacazette was also chuffed at the prospect of playing in the Europa League next season, declaring himself "delighted and very proud" to have signed for the club. Asked why, he said: "Throughout my childhood, thanks to Thierry Henry and other French players, I always dreamed of playing for this club so today that dream has been fulfilled."
Lacazette also praised the club's past, and their manager, saying of Wenger: "The fact that the manager has been here for a while shows that it is a stable club which I like." And asked if he had a message for those fans, many of whom spent last season demanding the head of their manager, Lacazette said: "I want to give one hundred per cent in every match. I want to show I'm worthy of the shirt. I want to do everything I can to make sure we win titles."
Lacazette's arrival does not seem to have left Alexis Sanchez overly impressed says Metro.
The Gunners hoped the striker's arrival would convince him that Arsenal were serious contenders in the Premier League, but the paper says that the Chilean marksman is now "demanding £400,000-a-week to sign a new contract" and the Gunners have told him where to get off.
Apparently the most they are prepared to pay Sanchez a week is £275,000 and it remains to be seen whether the South American will accept this derisory sum.
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