According to the latest reports, La Liga giants Barcelona are willing to offer Andre Gomes and Samuel Umtiti in a bid to land Arsenal forward Alexandre Lacazette in the upcoming summer transfer window. The French forward has been lethal for the Gunners this term and that has attracted interest from several top clubs across the European continent.
Ever since Unai Emery took charge of Arsenal football club back in the summer of 2018, he has done quite a commendable job with the North London giants after succeeding his legendary predecessor Arsene Wenger. The 69-year-old Frenchman was in charge of Arsenal for 22 long years and won plenty of major honours during his reign at the Premier League club. Wenger has won three Premier League titles and seven FA Cups, bringing Arsenal back to the top and competing once again at the top level. However, during his last few years as Arsenal boss, most of the upcoming generation of managers were able to outwit and out tactic the veteran. Even most of the Arsenal faithful wanted Wenger out of the club and he finally left the Emirates last summer to make way for Unai Emery.
The Spaniard has breathed fresh life and air into Arsenal in his debut season as most of his summer signings hit the ground running and Emery has also instilled his philosophy into the club. The 47-year-old guided Arsenal to fifth place in the Premier League table, only missing out on a top-four berth by just one point. However, the Gunners are still in with the opportunity to play Champions League football next season if they win the Europa League final against their local rivals Chelsea. One player who has shown tremendous ability this season is French star Alexandre Lacazette.
The former Lyon striker arrived at Arsenal back in 2017 for a transfer fee of €50m and has proven his worth. Lacazette has gone up a gear, scored 19 goals and notched up eight assists across all competitions, leading the Gunners to the final of the Europa League. With these impressive performances, La Liga champions Barcelona are showing a keen interest in snapping up the Frenchman in the summer transfer window. Initially, Barcelona were looking to sign Atletico Madrid hitman Antoine Griezmann in the summer but if a move for the World Cup winner falls out, Lacazette will be the next target.
Although Arsenal have no intention of allowing Lacazette to leave the Emirates Stadium anytime soon despite the Catalonians offering a bid of over €70m, it is reported that Unai Emery wants to sign a few Barcelona stars. The Arsenal manager is eager to land Andre Gomes in the summer, who spent a season-long loan at Goodison Park with Everton. Along with Gomes, Barcelona are also willing to let French defender Samuel Umtiti leave the club if it means Lacazette arrives at the Camp Nou.
“No. Neither Aubameyang nor Lacazette are wanted by Real Madrid or Barcelona. Top players, of course. But they’re not wanted by either of them. #AFC will have those two top strikers for another season at least.” pic.twitter.com/ABKQ1gFCBV
— Cannon Insider (@CannonInsider) May 16, 2019
Lacazette has revealed to news outlet RMC that he is happy at Arsenal: “I am happy when I play, necessarily, like any player, when I am on the pitch, of course, there is joy, on the field and off, I keep smiling, smiling to life. I do one of the most beautiful jobs in the world, even if I could be even happier. But I am happy we won and we went to the next round. In training and my teammates trust me, I am happy, but tonight it’s mostly a team effort, we did not have to concede a goal, we did it in both games, we’re happy.”
