Lyon have rejected a €35m bid from Arsenal for striker, Alexandre Lacazette.

The Ligue 1 club deny that Arsenal bid €48m, as was reported, and reiterated that he’s ‘irreplaceable’ and staying in France.

What does this mean?

Other than the obvious, the statement appears odd.

A press release shared via Lyon’s official Twitter account for a rejected bid? This seems a little underhand, especially considering it’s widely known that Arsenal are very private about their transfer activity.

Also, ‘irreplaceable’ may just mean that they want a more substantial bid, considering they obviously deem €35m to not be high enough.

The striker appears to want to leave Lyon. Although we don’t know this for sure, if Lyon are listening to offers and making it known, it appears that the cogs have started to turn on a potential move. Saying that a player is staying doesn’t mean much these days.

Of course, Arsenal could see this press release as insulting and pull out completely.