Having cleared the decks of his under-achieving strike force Arsene Wenger is now seeking to bring in a youngster many French pundits believe is the successor to Thierry Henry’s crown.

Lyon’s Alexandre Lacazette is considered the best of the Ligue 1 club’s new batch of promising talent and at 20 years of age has already played a prominent part in their Champion’s League campaign this term, scoring twice in the process. His playing style is remarkably similar to the Emirates legend Henry – particularly in his early days – as he drifts in from wide positions with explosive pace and trickery always available.

Though Lacazette has yet to break into the national side he has represented every youth level and was outstanding for the Under-19s two years ago, scoring the winner in the final as France triumphed in a European trophy on home turf.

Impressed by his club form and with the media singing the player’s praises French coach Laurent Blanc is giving serious thought to taking the player along to this summer’s Euros as his fourth striker – predominantly to gain from the experience – and his blistering turn-of-pace makes him a potentially dangerous threat from the bench for England and others to consider.

If a top four Prem spot is secured Wenger intends to swoop early to avoid any potential bidding wars for Lyon’s prized asset although the major stumbling block is Les Gones owner Jean-Michel Aulas who is renowned for driving a hard bargain. The club have no financial requirement to sell and with a raft of exciting prospects all progressing through the academy there is a bright future ahead.

A further hindrance to Arsenal’s hopes of signing the youngster is a growing resentment in France at seeing their best players leave for foreign shores. The feeling amongst the public and press alike is that, should clubs such as Lyon and Lille retain their best talent, then Ligue 1 will continue to prosper and no longer be considered inferior to the championships in Spain, Italy and England.

To balance this out however is the emergence through Lyon’s ranks of one of the most promising teens for several years in the form of Yassine Benzia. Though the wonderkid is still too raw to feature he will certainly be introduced in the next year and the general consensus is that he will soon surpass Lacazette in the Lyon pecking order.

Should Arsenal come in strong with a firm bid this summer it could conceivably be given due consideration through this alone with the money used to strengthen in other key areas.

Wenger has already off-loaded Arshavin back to Zenit St. Petersburg and with the mis-firing Chamakh sure to follow the wily Professor’s intention is to surround Van Persie with explosive youth. Ryo Miyaichi will be brought back from Bolton, Oxlade-Chamberlain is expected to build upon his breakthrough season while Walcott will no doubt continue to delight and exasperate in equal moderation.

Whether Lacazette also features at the Emirate and furthermore develops into the next Henry only time – and hard bargaining – will tell.