As with most transfer windows at the Emirates Stadium, there has been a degree of frustration over a few deals that Arsenal have looked to make.
One of those has been internally with an impending contract extension for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as well as further afield in the shape of Thomas Partey and others.
It is understood that Partey remains a top priority for the Gunners in this current transfer window, despite a deal failing to materialise so far. However, Arsenal have reportedly offered members of their current squad plus a transfer fee to acquire the Ghanaian international’s services.
Both Matteo Guendouzi and Alexandre Lacazette are believed to have been offered to the La Liga side, but offering the French striker raises interesting questions about how highly Arsenal rate his qualities.
Lacazette had nearly joined Atletico Madrid instead of Arsenal in the summer of 2017 and might well have done so had the Court of Arbitration for Sport not upheld the La Liga side’s transfer ban.
A move to Arsenal over three years ago may not have produced the stellar performance expected from his £46.5million transfer fee, but the centre-forward still has plenty to offer Mikel Arteta’s side - showing that by scoring the opening goal of the new Premier League campaign against Fulham on Saturday.
The 29-year-old has scored at least 10 league goals in each Premier League season since 2017/18 which is highly valuable when considering that Aubameyang is the only other main source of goals at the club.
Furthermore, his ability to link the play with his attacking teammates often brings greater rewards than just scoring goals himself - as shown below.
In the snapshot above, it looks as if Lacazette is squaring up to shoot but he instead threads the ball through to Aubameyang, who should perhaps do better than just hitting the post with his subsequent shot.
That type of intelligent play from a centre-forward tends to come from more experienced players who have played at the top level for a sustained period of time. And the fact that Eddie Nketiah is one of the few alternative centre-forward options Arteta has illustrates why losing Lacazette right now isn’t a logical choice to be making.
Nketiah and Gabriel Martinelli both present attractive propositions for the future but it stands to reason that there needs to be a balance between youth and experience - particularly in such a pressurised area of the pitch.
While signing Partey would be a big achievement for the club in this transfer window, doing so at the expense of creating an issue at centre forward is counter-productive. There are plenty of signs to suggest that Lacazette could leave within the next 12 to 18 months given his age, but doing so at this moment in time means little sense.
