Arsenal confirm Alexandre Lacazette exit as captain prepares to return to Lyon

The Frenchman is set to leave Emirates Stadium at the end of the campaign with his contract expiring and could be in line for a return to former club Lyon

Arsenal have confirmed that club captain Alexandre Lacazette is leaving the club.

The Gunners have released a statement confirming the Frenchman will leave later this month. It read: “Alex Lacazette will leave us at the end of his current contract, which runs until June 30. Since joining us from Lyon in July 2017, Laca has made 206 appearances in all competitions, scoring 71 goals. .”

Mikel Arteta said: “Laca has been a fantastic player for us. He was a true leader on and off the pitch and had a huge influence on our young players. His involvement with us has been exceptional and we wish him and his family success and happiness.

Lacazette admitted the time had come for a new challenge.

“I’m looking forward to a new experience and a new adventure,” Lacazette told Arsenal’s official club website. “I want to keep all the good times I had at the club, because for me it was just a pleasure to play for a club that since I was young I dreamed of.

“I’m really happy to have played for Arsenal for five years. I will keep in touch with my team-mates, with the coaches, with the club.

“I have supported Arsenal since I was young, so obviously I will continue to support them. I know I will return to the stadium as well.

Lacazette originally joined the Gunners from French side Lyon for a fee of £52.7m during Arsene Wenger’s tenure. Since then he has made 206 appearances for the Gunners, scoring 71 goals in all competitions.

He was part of the team that won the FA Cup under Mikel Arteta, while also claiming the Community Shield the following season. However, his contract was due to expire at the end of this season and he had dropped out of the starting line-up in recent weeks, with Eddie Nketiah preferred.

Lacazette becomes the second major striker to leave the Emirates this season following Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s move to Barcelona in January. The pair’s exit leaves the Gunners with just Eddie Nketiah as the club’s only senior striker heading into next season. The Hale End academy graduate is also out of contract at the end of the campaign but recent reports suggest he is close to agreeing new terms with the north London side.

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Arteta is set to dive into the transfer market to attack for reinforcements, with Man City’s Gabriel Jesus currently the most likely candidate with Arsenal having fallen out of the running for Napoli star Victor Osimhen, who, quite simply, is too expensive.

Lacazette should meanwhile return to the former Lyon team. The 31-year-old has already hinted that a reunion with the French side could be a possibility eventually.

Speaking earlier this season, he said: “I have never cut contact with Lyon since I left. I try to come back to the club once or twice a year to see the medical staff because we are very close. Lyon knows I’m free, they have my information, it’s a bit more complicated [if they fail to qualify for Europe]. I want to play in Europe, it’s been a long time since I played the Champions League, I miss it.

“It’s a little more complicated, nothing is impossible in life, but it’s a little more complicated.”