Newcastle United were recently linked with a move for Alexandre Lacazette.
The French striker’s contract with Arsenal is up at the end of the season.
At the moment, he stands to leave the Emirates Stadium as a free agent.
That means the club could look to try and offload him next month to bring in at least a bit of money.
In November, the player supposedly instructed his agents to look ‘to the right and to the left’ to find him a new club (via Mirror).
But the picture may well have changed slightly at Arsenal now.
Recently, Mikel Arteta dropped Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from a matchday squad against Southampton.
He stated that it was because of a disciplinary breach, and the Gabon striker was later stripped of the captaincy.
Aubameyang has not been selected for a matchday squad since, missing two more Arsenal games.
This could potentially have significance for Newcastle and other potential suitors for Lacazette.
If Arsenal had any plans to sell in January, they may now be less willing given the Aubameyang situation.
Any Newcastle move for Lacazette could now be unlikely
Simply put, it just wouldn’t be ideal for Arsenal to look to cash in on Lacazette next month.
With Aubameyang out of the picture for now, he is their only other senior centre-forward option. It is already clear he is the man who will play in his absence, however long that may be for.
Aubameyang is set to go to AFCON, but he may well be in the same boat when he returns. That is, if Arsenal don’t offload him during the tournament.
Lacazette – who cost the Gunners £46.5 million back in 2017 – would be a fine addition for Newcastle.
But it now feels like the chances of any January swoop are extremely low. They were, admittedly, not particularly high to begin with.
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