Arsenal have always had links with French footballers, mainly because of Arsene Wenger. The likes of Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira and Emmanuel Petit have all played huge parts of the club’s history, as have currently players Laurent Koscielny, Mathieu Flamini and Olivier Giroud. Here are three players from the French topflight that I think Arsenal should be looking at in the summer.
1) Alexandre Lacazette – Lyon
The 22-year-old has established himself as one of the most exciting players in Ligue 1. He can play as a central striker, on either wing or in a deeper role, and has scored 16 goals this season between the league and Europa League.
He also has three assists.
2) Wissam Ben Yedder – Toulouse
The Frenchman is a striker with 12 league goals to his name this season in his 29 appearances. He has also made five assists. He is a creative forward who loves to spark attacks and his passing is superb.
For me he should be right up there with Wenger’s targets, and he is still only 23.
3) Mathieu Valbuena – Marseille
The Marseille man averages the most key passes per game in the entire division, with 2.6, and has claimed five assists in the league so far. He traditionally plays just behind the frontman and is the one who threads balls around to his attacking team-mates, though he also has two goals himself.