Lacazette completed a medical yesterday as he ties up a move from Lyon for a fee which could reach £52m, eclipsing the £42.5m Arsenal paid for Mesut Ozil.
The 26-year-old, who scored 37 goals last season and has 11 caps for France, has agreed a five-year deal with the Gunners and will become their second signing of the summer, following left-back Sead Kolasinac, who joined on a free transfer from Schalke last month.
Arsenal won the race to sign him after Lacazette’s move to Atletico Madrid collapsed when their transfer ban was upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
But while the spending will not stop there for the Gunners, they still face losing Sanchez, with City increasingly confident they will get him.
Arsenal have made it clear they do not want to sell the unsettled Chile star to a Premier League rival. But with Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness confirming yesterday that Sanchez is too expensive for the German giants, they may have little option.
Sanchez has a year left on his contract and is prepared to see it out and leave on a free next summer unless he gets his way.
That could yet force Arsene Wenger’s hand, with the 28-year-old’s future set to be sorted before he returns to training in three weeks’ time.
Arsenal’s move for Lacazette could also have knock-on effects for Olivier Giroud, who is a £20m transfer target for Everton and West Ham.
Giroud gave an interview this week in which he insisted he wants to stay at the Emirates, but the arrival of his countryman could still change his mind.
Big-spending Everton are leading the race for Giroud and want to make him their fifth signing of a busy summer so far at Goodison Park.
But Giroud said: “I want to carry on my good journey at Arsenal and always want to give my best. Until the end of my contract the motivation is here always.”
