Cape Town - Lyon's
Alexandre Lacazette has left the door open for a bid from Arsenal,
saying that the lack of Champions League football next season is not a
'dealbreaker'.
The French hit-man, consistently amongst Ligue 1's top goalscorers in recent years, has long been linked with a move to The Emirates, and many would interpret his latest statements as an invitation for a bid from Arsene Wenger.
"Is the Champions League a deal-breaker for my choice? No, but it is important," he said in an interview with Eurosport.
"In making my choice, I will look at my position [in my next club], if there are not too many players, so I won't be benched and I will be able to play.
"The Premier League is interesting. That does not mean I will go, and that does not mean I will refuse to go."
Adding further fuel to speculation that the 26-year old could be London-bound this summer is Atletico Madrid's enforced withdrawal from the chase for his signature.
"Like everyone else, I heard the news," Lacazette said about the decision to uphold the transfer ban imposed on the Spanish club.
"This was always going to be a possibility, it was 50-50. The decision has not perturbed me, life goes on," he said.
Lacazette, a product of the Lyon youth academy, was promoted to the club's first team in 2010 and has scored 100 Ligue 1 goals in the 203 matches that he's played since.
The France international is on contract until 2019 and is expected to cost in the region of £40m.
He added that he may indeed sing for Atletico and wait for the next transfer window in January to complete the transfer and join Diego Simeone's squad.