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Mikel Arteta on Alexandre Lacazette's form and future

Mikel Arteta has been urged to replace Alexandre Lacazette with Brentford striker Ivan Toney this summer to complete his Arsenal revitalisation project.

The Spaniard spent £150million last summer on six new signings, with Aaron Ramsdale, Martin Odegaard, Ben White, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Albert Sambi Lokonga and Nuno Tavares all arriving through the Emirates doors.

But the Gunners boss saw his attempts to land a new striker in January end in failure after missing out on Dusan Vlahovic to Juventus, and being priced out of a move for Real Sociedad’s Alexander Isak.

Lacazette is out of contract in June and there are no clear signs of a renewal on the horizon for the Frenchman, who arrived from Lyon in a £52m deal in 2017.

His likely departure could force Arteta to return with another bid for Isak in the summer, especially if Arsenal manage to secure Champions League football for next season.

But former Stoke and Tottenham forward Garth Crooks, now a pundit, believes the north London outfit should consider Toney instead due to his seamless adaptation to Premier League football.

“I caused a bit of a stir on Final Score and my colleagues Dion Dublin and Jason Mohammed raised eyebrows when I suggested that Ivan Toney would make a good fit for Arsenal next season,” he wrote in his BBC Sport column.

“I think they were slightly taken aback because they thought I might know something or have an inside track