Lyon chief adamant Lacazette will stay amid Arsenal interest

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Olympique Lyonnais president Jean-Michel Aulas is desperate to retain Alexandre Lacazette's services despite significant offers from Arsenal, saying it would be "malpractice" to allow him to leave.

A €35-million offer from the Gunners was recently spurned by Lyon, but L'Equipe expects Arsene Wenger's side to return with an improved bid. ESPN FC's Mark Rodden states it's unclear whether Aulas delivered his fighting talk before or after the approach was made public, however.

"Alexandre is irreplaceable," Aulas told Foot Mercato. "It would be malpractice to sell him."

The club chief tips Lacazette, 25, for big things if he stays around, such as assuming the top-scoring title from the departed Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and says he's not distracted by the reports surrounding his future.

"I find him to be completely calm," he continued. "I think he's going to have a very good Champions League and I honestly see Alexandre getting 27 to 30 goals again in the French league.

"For me, he'll be ahead of (Paris Saint-Germain forward Edinson) Cavani this year for the number of goals scored. And I see him putting in an incredible performance in the Champions League as well."

Overall, Aulas deems what the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes region has to offer outdoes anything that could be waiting for Lacazette in north London.

"For all these reasons, I can't imagine that he might be able to leave and I think that he too wants to have a complete season with OL. Alexandre will be Lyonnais."

Lyon next tests itself against Benfica in its preseason schedule, before kicking off its competitive commitments with a Trophee des Champions bout against PSG on Aug. 6.