Alexandre Lacazette has revealed he plans to discuss his future with Arsenal after tonight’s Europa League Final.
The 28-year-old has been linked with a move to Barcelona or Atletico Madrid, as the clubs tussle over where Antoine Griezmann will play next season.
Griezmann, currently at Atletico, would cost Barca around £100million and they are thought to be assessing their options due to the complexity of any deal.
The Gunners are in a strong negotiating position given that Lacazette’s existing contract runs until 2022. But when asked whether he views his long-term future in north London, the striker told Standard Sport: “For me, I just think about the final, then after we will see with the club.
“If the club is really happy with me and I’m happy, I will stay. In France, they say 27, 28 is one of the best ages in your career. I wish it is not the last [good season] at Arsenal and I hope I will be better and better in the next years.”
Lacazette has scored 19 goals this season and is set to resume his potent partnership with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang against Chelsea in Baku this evening.
Both forwards were brought to the club by Arsene Wenger, but Lacazette believes he is a better player under the Frenchman’s successor, Unai Emery.
“I am feeling good,” he said. “I play more with Unai and have more confidence with him. Even if I can just say ‘thank you’ to Wenger because he brought me into this big club, but I feel better with Unai.
“I finished well and I hope the long break is not going to kill me. I work in training to be ready.”
Arsenal could win their first European trophy for 25 years — and have planned a parade for tomorrow evening through Islington should they succeed — and it would also represent the biggest honour of Lacazette’s career, having only won the 2017 Community Shield before lifting the French Cup and Champions Trophy with Lyon five years earlier.
“It will be the first European trophy in my career and winning one is really important to me,” he said. “I want this trophy and to play in the Champions League next season.”
Arsenal have already made the 6,000-mile round trip to Baku this season, beating Qarabag 3-0 during the Europa League group stage in October, and although Chelsea beat the same opponents in 2017, Lacazette believes their more recent experience of the venue could help give the Gunners an edge.
The Blues arrived in the early hours of yesterday morning, while Arsenal flew in two days earlier to begin acclimatising and Lacazette said: “It gives us a little bit of an advantage because we have already played once there this season. We have come a long way as a team.”
Their journey to the final was fraught at several stages, requiring them to overturn first-leg deficits against BATE Borisov and Rennes in the last 32 and last-16 rounds respectively. But Lacazette said: “There was never really a point where I thought we might go out because after every first leg, we knew we could do it at home because with our fans the team is better.
“It is going to be very different in Baku, but we know we have great away fans.”
