Alexandre Lacazette joins Arsenal for club record £46.5m

Alexandre Lacazette is all smiles as he is unveiled by the Gunners

Arsenal have completed the signing of France striker Alexandre Lacazette from Lyon for a club record £46.5m fee on a five-year deal.

The fee – up to £52.6m with add-ons – will surpass the £42.4m Arsenal paid Real Madrid for Mesut Ozil in 2013.

“Arsenal are the club that plays the best football in England so I really wanted to come here,” said Lacazette.

The 26-year-old is expected to travel with the squad this weekend for two friendly matches in Sydney next week.

Those games will be followed by a match against Bayern Munich in Shanghai the following week.

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The player added: “Throughout my childhood and thanks to Arsenal’s former striker Thierry Henry and other French players, I always dreamed of playing for this club so that dream has been fulfilled.

Alexandre Lacazette is already getting used to is new surroundings

“I like clubs with a history and the fact that the manager has been here for a while shows that it is a stable club. There are quite a few French players at the club which will make it easy to settle in.”

Lacazette, who has won 11 caps for France, was the second-highest scorer in Ligue 1 last season with 28 goals. He netted 129 goals in 275 matches in all competitions for Lyon after breaking into the first team in the 2009-10 campaign.

His league tally last season was bettered by only Paris St-Germain’s Edinson Cavani, with 35.

Arsene Wenger has managed to break his record transfer fee at Arsenal after signing Alexandre Lacazette

Manager Arsene Wenger said: “We are very happy to have Alexandre join our group. He has shown over a number of years that he can score goals and that he is a very efficient finisher.

“He has very interesting technical qualities and a strong character. So he is a guy who is a great addition for us, and someone who will help us challenge at the top level this season.”

Lacazette has been linked with several top clubs and looked set to join Atletico Madrid before their transfer ban was upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Last week Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis promised fans “top-quality” summer signings during a question-and-answer session.

Left-back Sead Kolasinac, who joined from Schalke, is Arsenal’s other recruit since the end of last season.