Martin Keown thinks Alexandre Lacazette is still young enough for a couple more years at Arsenal, and it looks like he’s playing to stay at the club.

As we know, Alexandre Lacazette is in the final year of his current contract at Arsenal. Reports in recent months suggest the club haven’t made him an offer to extend, and he began the season with no Premier League starts for over two months.

Yet things have started to turn around lately. The striker is back in the starting lineup in the league, featuring in a couple of good wins, and reports from within the club suggest he’s a popular figure internally.

Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown feels Lacazette’s time with the Gunners doesn’t have to be up just yet, and he believes the 30-year-old is playing for a future at the club.

“I still think he is more than young enough to be there for another couple of years,” Keown said. “I feel Lacazette still definitely has something to offer.

“If he continues to play like this now for the rest of the season, it seems like it is going to be difficult to get him out of the team. He is going to have a competition with Odegaard who can play in that position. It’s about having a sustained period in the team now.

“All that bodes well for a new contract. That’s what he is playing for, he is playing for his Arsenal future. It looks like he wants a future there in his performances.”

If Lacazette does hold down his place in the team, and if that keeps leading to positive results for Mikel Arteta’s side, it’s difficult to rule out an extension completely. But those are big ‘ifs’, given how the last few years have gone.