Arsenal target Premier League duo to replace Alexandre Lacazette amid transfer uncertainty
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Arsenal have begun preparing for life without Alexandre Lacazette by plotting potential swoops for Premier League striking duo Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Ollie Watkins.
French striker Lacazette is in the final 12 months of his deal at the Emirates and isn’t expected to be offered an extension to his current £180,000-a-week agreement.
The Gunners could even look to move the 30-year-old on as soon as January instead of seeing him depart for free next summer – five years on from his arrival in a £52million deal from Lyon.
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And The Sun are now reporting that boss Mikel Arteta has already set his sights on replacing Lacazette with an established Premier League goalscorer, with either Calvert-Lewin or Watkins fitting the bill.
Striking a deal for either would require another significant investment from the Emirates hierarchy.
Arsenal topped the table of Premier League spenders this summer, with no club matching their £148m outlay on six new recruits.
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But Gunners chief Stan Kroenke is prepared to back Arteta with funds again as he searches for a striker capable of replacing Lacazette and providing more firepower alongside captain Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang.
Both Everton and Aston Villa are likely to resist any move for their respective strikers.
Calvert-Lewin has evolved into a key performer for the Toffees and Watkins has catapulted himself into the England set-up after handling the step up from the Championship with aplomb.
Calvert-Lewin, like Watkins, is contracted until 2025 and Everton are likely to want north of £50m for their star man.
Although reluctant, Villa have shown this summer with the £100m exit of Jack Grealish that they would do business if the right conditions are met – although that would be a figure significantly higher than the £28m they paid Brentford last summer.
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Both finished above the Gunners’ top scorer, which was ironically Lacazette, in last seasons scoring ranks in the Premier League, with Calvert-Lewin (16) and Watkins (14) bettering the Frenchman’s tally of 13 league strikes for Arteta’s side.
And with the pair aged 25 and 24 respectively, they fit Arteta’s brief of being young enough to be seen as a long-term replacement for Aubameyang, with the Arsenal skipper now 32.
There is a feeling at the Emirates that the attacking ranks need freshening up after a summer of investment elsewhere.
Academy graduate Eddie Nketiah is also set to be out of contract next summer and is reportedly set to push for an exit in the New Year.
The 22-year-old has failed to make a matchday squad under Arteta in the Premier League this year after only making four league starts last term, although he did find the net on his one appearance so far this term in the 3-0 Carabao Cup win over League One side AFC Wimbledon.
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