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Arsenal news: Unai Emery makes Alexandre Lacazette transfer revelation
ARSENAL boss Unai Emery has revealed he tried to sign Gunners star Alexandre Lacazette while he was in charge of Paris Saint-Germain.
Arsenal's Lacazette attempts hilarious British accent
The French striker has been a revelation since Emery took over from Arsene Wenger at the Emirates.
He struggled in his first season after moving from Ligue 1 Lyon in July 2017, but the 27-year-old has scored four Premier League goals in 2018-19 - averaging a strike every 134 minutes.
And Emery said he was well aware of the striker’s qualities before he signed for Arsenal and admits he was previously keen to take him to PSG.
“The first year when I arrived in Paris, we were thinking about signing Lacazette,” he said.
“We liked his quality and his characteristics also at PSG.
“And all the people working there they said to us, this is the player [who has] the quality to play at PSG."
Lacazette’s future at the Emirates appeared to be uncertain midway through his first season in England.
After he struggled to settle in England, the club moved to sign Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang from Borussia Dortmund for around £60million in the January transfer window.
However, the France international responded well to the competition and has since struck up a lethal partnership with the Gabon star.
And Emery thinks Lacazette can get even better after an encouraging start to the campaign.
“For him last year was his first year in the Premier League, so a different league than the French,” he added.
“He needs to continue his adaptation for us, for the Premier League.
“But I think this year we are looking at him (to take) one step more in this level.
“We are very happy (with him), but my message to him is: every day, don’t stop.
“Don’t stop in the training, don’t stop in the matches, carry on finding his best performance.
“But not (just) each match, each minute in the 90 minutes. And I think he’s doing that.”