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Arsenal transfer news: Mikel Arteta tells Alexandre Lacazette to focus on Gunners amid exit talks | Football news


Mikel Arteta has told captain Alexandre Lacazette to focus on finishing the season with Arsenal after the Frenchman revealed he is in talks with other clubs.

Earlier this week, Lacazette had an interview with French store Canal + where he revealed he is in pre-contract negotiations with a number of clubs, including his former club Lyon, with the 30-year-old north London striker’s contract set to expire on June 30.

Arteta reiterated that Arsenal plan to discuss Lacazette’s future at the end of the season and told his captain he has an obligation to the football club to perform at his highest level.

“His contract situation allows him to make decisions about his future,” said Arteta. “We’ve made our intentions clear: talk in the summer once we know what we’re going to do in the future together.

“For the rest, I want him to be completely focused on his future, which is defending Arsenal at all times as he always does and that’s why he wears the armband.”

During the interview, Lacazette also revealed his intention to play in the Champions League, with Arsenal currently locked in a battle with Tottenham and Manchester United for a coveted fourth place in the Premier League allowing a seat in European football’s top table.

Alexandre Lacazette celebrates Arsenal's late win over Wolves
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Lacazette’s Arsenal contract expires at the end of the season

Lyon – whom Lacazette played for before joining Arsenal for a club record fee in 2017 – is no closer to the Champions League than Arsenal, with the French club sitting in eighth place in Ligue 1, 17 points after the third, lowest place. position required to qualify for the contest.

“I am in discussions with a lot of clubs,” the striker claimed. “I’ve never cut ties with Lyon since I left. I try to come back to the club once or twice a year to see the medical staff again because we’re really close. They know that. i’m free [in the summer]they requested.

“I want to play in Europe, it’s been a long time since I played in the Champions League, so I miss it. Nothing in life is impossible but a little more complicated. [for Lyon without Europe]. “

Arteta admitted he was not aware Lacazette was talking to other clubs but said the striker was entitled to do what he wanted with his future.

Mikel Arteta shows stress as Arsenal lose for the second time in a week
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Mikel Arteta didn’t know Lacazette was talking to other clubs

“He doesn’t have to tell me what he does in his own life,” added Arteta. “He has the right to do that and he has an obligation to do his best here. That’s the deal we’ve made with him. Our position remains the same. It’s not about us or about us. him, but on both sides.

“It’s not about me, it’s about me as a club. It was our decision about the club, we had that decision to better understand what we wanted. to do over the summer. That’s what we decided. I can’t go into the details but there’s something there.”

Arteta: Nketiah deserves more playtime

The Gunners boss also mentioned the future of rival striker Eddie Nketiah of Lacazette, whose contract expires at the end of June.

Nketiah said to Stunning Game Podcast this week that he is disappointed with his game time at the Emirates Stadium. The 22-year-old has made 14 appearances in the top flight this term, although only one of them – in the 0-1 loss to Southampton last weekend – was a starter.

Arteta says Nketiah deserves more chances but says he is under no pressure to play him to try to keep him at the club.

PA - Eddie Nketiah
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Eddie Nketiah is also out of contract at the end of the season

“He’s right to be upset and that’s what we want from players who don’t play,” said Arteta. “If there’s one player who deserves more chances, it’s Eddie.

“It’s not about pressure to play him, but to put the team that can win football matches and have the best possible chance of winning it.

“We can play him less, we have to treat every player with the obligation that we have, we want to bring out their full potential.

“With Eddie, I said how I rate him and how we have big plans for him going forward.”

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