Premier League: Arsenal confirm exit of Alexandre Lacazette
Jun 04, 2022
London [UK], June 4 : Arsenal on Friday confirmed that striker Alexandre Lacazette will be leaving the Premier League club at the end of his current contract, which runs until June 30.
Since joining the Gunners from Lyon in July 2017, Laca made 206 appearances in all competitions, scoring 71 goals.
The 31-year-old was Arsenal's top scorer in two seasons during his time at the club - in 2017/18, and also in 2020/21, when he scored his 50th Premier League goal in the win over Sheffield United in April 2021.
That moved the French striker into the all-time top ten of goalscorers for the north-London based club in Premier League history - scoring his first goal just 94 seconds into his league debut, against Leicester City, in August 2017.
Laca was an FA Cup winner with Arsenal in 2020 and was also part of the FA Community Shield winning team in 2017. He was voted as the Arsenal Player of the Season for 2018/19.
Before coming to Emirates Stadium, Laca had played all his club football for his hometown club Lyon, scoring exactly 100 goals in Ligue 1 during his seven years in the French club's first team.
Manager Mikel Arteta in a statement said: "Laca has been a fantastic player for us. He's been a real leader on and off the pitch and has been a very important influence to our younger players."
"His commitment with us has been exceptional and we wish him and his family success and happiness."
Technical Director Edu, added: "A big thank you to Laca from everyone at Arsenal. He's been really important for us. "He will always be part of the Arsenal family and we wish him well for everything in the future."
Signed by Arsene Wenger in the summer of 2017, the Frenchman made an instant impact for the Gunners, scoring just 94 seconds into his Premier League debut, and going on to net 17 times during his first season.
