Former Manchester City winger Shaun Wright-Phillips has urged the Cityzens to go after Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette in the January transfer window.

Speaking to The Sun, Shaun Wright-Phillips has claimed that his former club Manchester City can benefit by signing Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette in the upcoming January transfer window.

Lacazette has entered the final year of his contract with Arsenal, and talks over an extension are yet to occur, leading to speculations surrounding his future at the Emirates. The 30-year-old Frenchman has been linked to numerous clubs across Europe, including La Liga giants Barcelona.

Now, Wright-Phillips has urged his former club Manchester City to throw their hat in the ring to sign the Arsenal forward. The ex-England winger believes that Lacazette can address the Cityzens issues in the No. 9 position. Having allowed Sergio Aguero to join Barcelona in the summer, the Premier League champions did not bring in a replacement.

Instead, Pep Guardiola opted to field Ferran Torres in the centre-forward role, and the Spaniard did well until being struck down by an injury. Since then, the City boss has played with the likes of Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva or Kevin De Bruyne as the false-nine. And although they haven’t entirely missed having a natural No. 9 in the ranks, Wright-Phillips reckons that Lacazette can add a lot of value to the side.

Reaching the end of the line at Arsenal? (Photo by Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty Images)
Reaching the end of the line at Arsenal? (Photo by Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty Images)

“Someone was talking to me about it the other day and I said for me I would sign Ollie Watkins. Or even Lacazette, he knows where the goal is. He knows how to bring people into play and I always believe that when he plays for Arsenal, their front three behind him seem to play better, there seems to be more of a link-up between them,” he said.

“I think he’s like someone that helps Liverpool tick, Roberto Firmino. When Firmino plays with Sadio Mane and Mo Salah, there’s more space for them to run in behind because he’ll come short. He’ll turn, and he’ll drag centre-backs with him, and it creates space in behind.

“The way Phil Foden plays, always running in-behind, Ilkay Gundogan, if Raheem Sterling plays, Riyad Mahrez, it’d just open the game up a little bit more (for them) and give the centre-backs something real to think about, instead of coming short or coming deep with that striker, they have to think about going in-behind as well.”

A forward with proven Premier League pedigree, Lacazette can be a decent stop-gap solution for Guardiola & co. at least until the end of the season when they can go after their top targets such as Erling Haaland or Dusan Vlahovic.

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