Arsenal have completed signing of France striker Alexandre Lacazette from Lyon for £46.5m fee on a five-year deal.
The fee which is expected to go up to £52.6m with add-ons makes Lacazette Arsenal’s record signing.
Lacazette, 26, is expected to travel with the squad this weekend for two friendly matches in Sydney next week, followed by a match against Bayern Munich in Shanghai the following week.
Speaking on the move, he said: “Arsenal are the club that plays the best football in England so I really wanted to come here.”
He added: “Throughout my childhood and thanks to Arsenal’s former striker Thierry Henry and other French players, I always dreamed of playing for this club so that dream has been fulfilled.
“I like clubs with a history and the fact that the manager has been here for a while shows that it is a stable club. There are quite a few French players at the club which will make it easy to settle in.”
Lacazette, who has won 11 caps for France, was the second-highest scorer in Ligue 1 last season with 28 goals. He netted 129 goals in 275 matches in all competitions for Lyon after breaking into the first team in the 2009-10 campaign.
His league tally last season was bettered by only Paris St-Germain’s Edinson Cavani, with 35.
Manager Arsene Wenger said: “We are very happy to have Alexandre join our group. He has shown over a number of years that he can score goals and that he is a very efficient finisher.
“He has very interesting technical qualities and a strong character. So he is a guy who is a great addition for us, and someone who will help us challenge at the top level this season.”
The fee paid for Lacazette surpasses the £42.4m Arsenal paid Real Madrid for Mesut Ozil in 2013.
*With details from BBC
