Speaking on the latest video on his YouTube channel, Charles Watts revealed he believes Arsenal should sell Alexandre Lacazette this summer.
The 29-year-old is set to enter the final year of his contract with the Emirates Stadium outfit in the next few months, and the capital club are yet to offer him a new deal.
Lacazette has been in good form this season, scoring 13 goals and laying on a further three assists in 34 appearances for Mikel Arteta’s men, but it hasn’t been enough to convince Watts that he deserves a new deal.
The Gunners have recently handed lengthy, expensive contracts to ageing stars in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Willian, with mixed success, and the Goal correspondent feels the time is right for a younger face to come into the Arsenal fold.
He said: “I think he’s been a decent signing for Arsenal. Personally now, I think you should look to move him on this summer. He has been in very good form recently, I fully admit that. I wouldn’t be unhappy if he signed a new contract and stayed because I think he’s proven in the Premier League.
“You know he’s going to score between, certainly, 10 and 20 goals a season if he stays. Like I said, his link-up play is good, his relationship with the other players is good, he’s a very big presence in the changing room, the young players like him.
“So, all those tick the boxes for keeping him, but I just feel Arsenal have got a few ageing players on long-term contracts – if you’re going to add Lacazette to that as well now, he’s going to have no sell-on value in a couple of years, he’s not exactly prolific.
“It kind of feels like a good stage this summer to really shake up the striker apartment at Arsenal, bring in someone younger, fresher, who you can kind of build around and develop over the next few years.”
TIF Thoughts on Lacazette…
The former Lyon man has been a solid performer for Arsenal since arriving in a £46.5m deal back in 2017, bagging 61 goals in 161 games during his time on English shores.
However, Arteta has a big rebuilding job to do at the capital club, and the funds generated from the £31.5m-rated man’s potential sale could go a long way in helping the 39-year-old mould the squad in his preferred image.
Money could be tight at the Emirates Stadium this summer due to the financial impact of the pandemic and Arsenal’s expected failure to qualify for the Champions League, so selling Lacazette could be seen as a good alternative to generating a substantial transfer budget.
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