Alexandre Lacazette has opened up on his decision to swap Arsenal for Lyon, despite a previous declaration that he wanted to play for a club in the Champions League.
The Frenchman has left the Gunners after scoring 71 goals in 206 appearances in all competitions during a five-year stint at the Emirates Stadium.
Discussing his future in April, the striker said: ‘I want to play in Europe, it’s been a long time since I played in the Champions League, I’m missing it.’
But with the expiry of his Arsenal contract due at the end of June, Lacazette has re-joined former club Lyon on a three-year deal.
Even though the Ligue 1 side finished outside of the European qualification places last season, the 31-year-old insisted his call to return to the French club was the ‘best decision’.
‘Thank you for the welcome and the love shown in recent months,’ said Lacazette at his unveiling, via RMC Sport.
‘My return has become obvious in recent weeks. Even without Europe, the project is important. I felt useful in the locker room and on the pitch. It was the best decision to make.
‘I took some time to make my decision. Football is a beautiful profession. It was complicated to follow OL’s last season from a distance because I couldn’t help. I hope this period is over and that we are going to find a great Lyon.
“The priority is above all to help the club return to the top of the bill with European qualification.’
Lacazette’s exit from Arsenal has left Mikel Arteta needing to add a striker to his squad in the summer transfer window.
The Gunners won’t be able to offer any new signings the added benefit of Champions League football after they lost out to Tottenham in the top-four race, but they did qualify for the Europa League.
Manchester City’s Gabriel Jesus is one of the players to have been strongly linked with a switch to the Emirates Stadium.
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