Arsenal and Alexandre Lacazette have an agreement in place for the 28-year-old forward to leave north London if the club fails to qualify for next season’s UEFA Champions League, according to reports out of the UK.
[ MORE: Griezmann gives Barcelona first leg draw with Napoli (video) ]
With only two years remaining on his current contract, this summer is an ideal time for all parties to part ways in the event that Arsenal finds itself out of Europe’s premier competition for a fourth straight season.
Lacazette will turn 29 not long before the summer transfer window opens, representing the Gunners’ last opportunity to re-sell a player who previously cost them close $70 million in the summer of 2017. As for Lacazette himself, he believes that a player of his caliber should be in the Champions League every season and he is apparently more than happy to leave Arsenal to fulfill his destiny.
[ MORE: Bayern Munich puts Chelsea in three-goal hole ]
Despite being named Arsenal’s Player of the Season (13 goals in the Premier League, 19 in all competitions) less than a year ago, Lacazette has endured a thoroughly disappointing 2019-20 campaign and was recently dropped by manager Mikel Arteta, who preferred 20-year-old academy product Eddie Nketiah over the former club-record signing.
Lacazette has scored just six PL goals this season and has just one in his last nine league outings.