Report: Mikel Arteta doesn’t rate £182k-a-week Arsenal man, offloading him could earn up to £40m

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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is willing to let Alexandre Lacazette leave the Emirates Stadium in the summer amid interest from Atletico Madrid, according to a report in Spanish outlet AS.

The France international joined the Gunners from Lyon in the summer of 2017 for a club record £46.5million fee – up to £52.6million with add-ons – on a five-year contract (BBC Sport).

Lacazette joined Arsenal to much fanfare after his heroics at Lyon, during which he scored 129 goals and claimed 43 assists in 275 appearances (Transfermarkt).

His first season at the Emirates Stadium saw him net an impressive 17 goals and five assists, while last term his 19 goals and 13 assists helped him win Arsenal’s Player of the Year award.

However, this term hasn’t gone to plan for Lacazette, who has struggled in the final third and looks a shadow of his former self, having failed to even get into double figures thus far.

With Lacazette’s contract running until the summer of 2022, Arsenal haven’t got to make a quick decision on him just yet like they may have to with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

However, AS claims that Arteta doesn’t rate Lacazette and that Arsenal wouldn’t be against losing him, with Atletico Madrid reportedly viewing him as a perfect replacement for Diego Costa.

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Lacazette’s goalscoring record, both at Arsenal and Lyon, speaks for itself, but it cannot be denied that he has struggled this year.

If the AS report is true and Arteta is willing to part ways with the Frenchman, who earns a reported £182,000-a-week (Spotrac), Arsenal could free up almost £10million on the wage bill.

Value-wise, The Express claims that the Gunners are “likely to get” £30million to £40million were he put on the market right now – a depreciation from what he cost them three years ago.

If Aubameyang were to leave Arsenal, however, it remains to be seen whether Arteta would also part ways with another top striker in the same window and make the rebuilding job even harder for himself.