Arsenal suffer major setback in Alexandre Lacazette pursuit as Arsene Wenger targets three France stars

Lyon's president has stated he would rather sell to Paris Saint-Germain than a foreign club

Arsenal have been dealt a huge setback in their hunt for a trio of French stars after Lyon confirmed they would not stand in the way of Alexandre Lacazette’s potential move to Paris-Saint Germain.

Lacazette has been on Arsenal’s radar for a number of seasons but was due to be on his way to Atletico Madrid this summer, before the La Liga club’s transfer ban was upheld, forbidding them from registering new players until January 2018.

That ban raised hopes of him finally moving to the Emirates but with PSG also interested, Lyon’s president has said he would prefer Lacazette to move to a domestic rival and urged owners to invest in French football.

“I know Nasser [Al-Khelaifi, PSG owner] suggested to Noel Le Graet [president of the French Football Federation] that he is not investing that much in French players because he thought other presidents of French clubs looked badly upon it,” Jean-Michel Aulas told France Football.

“I want him to know that if he makes an offer for Alexandre at least equal to that of the other clubs bidding for him, then Alex can go to Paris without problem.

“I am a businessman and a modern club president. Transfer money must be reinvested into French football, as I always did when we were at the peak of our powers.

“When transfer money is shared abroad, it strengthens our competitors instead.”

With PSG’s considerable financial firepower allowing them to match any bid the Gunners make, it leaves it unlikely the Frenchman, who scored 37 times in 45 appearances last season, will be playing at the Emirates next season.

Wenger is also interested in Monaco duo Kylian Mbappe and Thomas Lemar and he was spotted in Monaco, along with chief executive Ivan Gazidis, with the view of negotiating a deal to bring the pair to north London.

Both played in France’s 3-2 win over England on Tuesday night with Mbappe in particular impressing, although Real Madrid remain favourites to sign him.

Mbappe recently said his “obsession” was to win the Champions League, thus seemingly ruling out a move to Arsenal this summer, with the Gunners having missed out on the top four this season.