"?Arsenal appear to have reached a dead end in their rumoured summer pursuits for both Gonzalo Higuain and Alexandre Lacazette, with the former now set to move elsewhere instead and the latter deemed too expensive by the Gunners.
After Juventus suddenly emerged on the scene as major competition for Higuain earlier this week, it seems as though the reigning Italian champions have already won the race.
Reports of Juve's interest initially came from reputable Italian pair Gianluca Di Marzio and Fabrizio Romano, while Goal.com now has reason to believe that a four-year contract worth a total of €28m has actually been agreed with the seemingly Turin-bound player.
The reigning Serie A champions now only have to negotiate a fee with Napoli and are expected to offer players in part exchange to bring the overall price down.
Having already missed out on Jamie Vardy after the England striker chose to commit his future to Leicester instead, Arsenal also seem unlikely to sign Alexandre Lacazette from Lyon.
The French international was being billed as an alternative to Higuain in case the Gunners couldn't make things happen with the Argentinean. But even with Higuain set to go elsewhere, Arsenal don't even look like they will land their back-up either.
According to Get French Football News, Arsene Wenger has put interest 'to one side' after being told it will cost around €50m, possibly rising to €60m, if he wants to sign Lacazette.
Such a figure would have seen Arsenal break their club transfer record, currently the £42m paid to Real Madrid for Mesut Ozil in 2013, which does not fit with Wenger's known frugality in the marketplace.
As this writer noted earlier this month, the Gunners, who have already signed 21-year-old Japanese international Takuma Asano much to the disappointment of fans, are fast running out of tangible options if they are indeed to bag a proven goalscorer by the end of the summer.
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