Lyon president: Lacazette will stay unless we find a replacement

Listen closely, Arsenal.

Lyon will only sell Alexandre Lacazette if it can first secure a replacement for the French international, club president Jean-Michel Aulas told reporters Monday.

Aulas recently said any interested party would have to match the €65-million offer (including bonuses) that Atletico Madrid submitted before a court ruling upheld its transfer ban.

Arsenal's reported €50-million bid appears to have fallen short of Aulas' valuation. To make the process even more difficult, Lacazette may not become available until after Lyon signs another striker.

Although Bertrand Traore completed a €10-million move to the French club Monday, the Burkina Faso international isn't considered to be Lacazette's heir.

Related: Chelsea outcast Bertrand Traore joins Lyon for €10M

"Today our position is that, as long as we have not signed his replacement, we will keep him," Aulas told a press conference, courtesy of the Evening Standard's Alex Young.

"He expressed the wish to leave, and he was given an agreement to go to the club of his heart (Atletico), but things did not happen.

"He wants to leave. We will discuss it in the coming weeks. If so, offers will be heard, provided they match the value of the player."

Incidentally, Arsenal's Olivier Giroud had emerged as the ideal man to replace Lacazette, but Aulas seemed to put an end to possible negotiations after conceding that the north Londoners want to keep him.