Alexandre Lacazette has revealed how Arsène Wenger and Francis Coquelin convinced him to sign for the Gunners over the summer.

Arsenal weren’t the only team interested in Lacazette’s signature over the summer, and the Frenchman still hadn’t reached the end of his contract with Lyon, so it was by no means a sure thing that he would come to North London.

But he eventually made a £48m move to the Emirates, and the Frenchman recently revealed who and what made up his mind.

“It was really the meeting with the coach that made me want to come here, it was something I had thought about since I was little,” said Lacazette. “I had spoken about it a lot for many years with Francis Coquelin but it was really all about that meeting with the coach.”

“I benefit from his experience on a daily basis, especially his past and how he has worked with various strikers. We are always chatting about small things I can do to make little improvements. It will be a really nice record for him too.”

The ‘record’ Lacazette is referring the one for most games managed in the Premier League. Wenger is closing in on Sir Alex Ferguson’s record of 810 and will equal it with the game against Palace.

Another French striker that Wenger worked with a lot at Arsenal was, of course, Thierry Henry. Lacazette says that he’s inspired by the Gunners’ record goalscorer, but doesn’t just want to walk in his footsteps.

“I guess, in terms of inspiration I do admire him but I wouldn’t want to copy him,” Lacazette explained. “Everyone has their own career, their own fate and everyone writes their own story.”

The 26-year-old has already started to write his story with the Gunners, with eight goals in the Premier League. Hopefully there’s a lot more to come, and the striker can justify the efforts of Arsène Wenger and Francis Coquelin in convincing him to join.