Arsenal may have readymade Alexandre Lacazette replacement if Mikel Arteta demand met

Arteta gives update on Nketiah's contract negotiations with Arsenal

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Arsenal’s focus is currently on preparing for Saturday’s Premier League game against Leicester City, but Mikel Arteta and the club’s hierarchy do have other concerns to mull over. The situation in the attacking department is fairly muddied at the moment, with two of the Gunners’ strikers facing uncertain futures at the club.

As it stands, both Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah are set to leave the club as free agents on July 1, 2022, while they will be able to openly discuss transfers with other clubs from January 1.

Whether those eventualities come to pass is uncertain for now, but it demonstrates that there is work for Arsenal to do in the coming months.

These are far from new concerns for the club, either, with Lacazette and Nketiah subject to much speculation during the summer transfer window.

Both stayed, but that seemed to stem more from coincidence and a lack of alternative options rather than either party particularly wanting to continue for the 2021/22 season.

Nine games into the Premier League campaign and the situation is no clearer. Neither player has been a regular for Arteta’s side, yet both are currently on the agenda after netting goals.

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Lacazette took the headlines by scoring a dramatic injury-time equaliser in the 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace last Monday before Nketiah netted in Tuesday’s 2-0 win over Leeds in the Carabao Cup.

Arteta has generally kept his cards close to his chest when it comes to transfers and contracts, but the goals helped loosened his lips.

First he said “anything is possible” with regards to a new contract for Lacazette before laying his cards on the table over Nketiah after the Leeds win this week.

“We had a situation in the summer that we tried to resolve and we couldn’t either way,” he explained.“That’s the contract situation. It’s more and more common in football with where we are coming from with COVID and a lot of the issues that we have to resolve.

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“I have full belief that he’s going to be a top, top player and hopefully at Arsenal.

“I’m so happy to have him in the team. He’s our player and I consider him and regard him really highly. From my side I want him to stay.”

Arteta wants Nketiah to stay, but is undecided – at least publicly – when it comes to Lacazette. So, if he signs a new deal and his team-mate doesn’t, could Nketiah become Lacazette’s replacement at Arsenal?

He certainly appears to have the credentials, as his determination, burst of speed and composure to score against Leeds reminded us on Tuesday.

Nketiah is only 22 years old but already has plenty of experience under his belt at Arsenal, having scored 15 goals in 67 appearances in all competitions.

Lacazette’s role at Arsenal is not that of a main man: while he is one of just eight players to have netted 10 or more goals in each of the past four Premier League seasons, he has undeniably played second fiddle to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Arguably, that role is suited to a young striker who is confident and experienced enough to offer a point of difference, but not too far into a career so as to be frustrated by a sidekick role.

Nketiah came very close to leaving Arsenal in the summer, with Crystal Palace pushing hard for his signature. Ultimately the move collapsed and the youngster remained at his boyhood club.

It remains to be seen if that collapsed deal proves decisive in sustaining Nketiah’s Arsenal career, as Arteta would now like, or in simply prolonging his exit by another year.

Nketiah has the ability to become Arsenal’s Lacazette replacement – but it may take some convincing on the club’s part to see him fulfil it.

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