According to reports Arsenal and France forward Alexandre Lacazette has returned to French Ligue 1 side Lyon where he was before Arsenal signed him. He signed a three-year deal with the club, scored 54 goals in 158 Premier League appearances for Arsenal and helped the Gunners win the 2020 FA Cup final.
Speaking about his transfer he said he had “never cut contact” with his hometown club Lyon. Lyon said they were “very proud and very happy” to announce Lacazette’s return to the club he joined at the age of 12, adding a deal “has been the club’s priority for several months”.
31-year-old Alexandre Lacazette rose through the youth teams at Lyon and scored 129 goals in 275 matches in all competitions for them after breaking into the first team in the 2009-10 campaign. He was brought in by the legendary Arsene Wenger in 2017with the deal – up to £52.6m with add-ons – surpassed the £42.4m Arsenal paid Real Madrid for Mesut Ozil in 2013.
Lacazette captained Arsenal after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who joined Spanish La Liga side Barcelona. Arsenal has not competed in the Champions League since 2016-17 and will play in the Europa League group stage in 2022-23 after finishing fifth in the Premier League.