Alexandre Lacazette to make Arsenal debut in Sydney, says Arsene Wenger

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Sydney, July 11: Arsenal completed a club record signing of French striker Alexandre Lacazette from Olympique Lyon for a reported £46.5 million rising to £52 million on July 4th.

The transfer overtook the fee paid for previous record signing of Mesut Ozil from Real Madrid in 2013 on a dramatic transfer deadline day.

With Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger wasting no time in strengthening the squad this summer with the additions of Lacazette and Bosnian defender Sead Kolasinac early in the window. Wenger confirmed the new boys will be invoved in action this week.

Alexandre Lacazette and Sead Kolasinac have both travelled along with the squad to Sydney for the pre-season tour and the striker has been designated for a debut against Sydney FC on Thursday (July 13).

Arsenal first travel to Australia after which they make a trip to China.

While speaking to the club's official website on arriving at Sydney, Arsene Wenger said: "Lacazette will make his debut here, yes."

The Arsenal manager then added, "On Thursday night he will certainly play a part in the game and in the other game as well. In the two games he will take part."

"We play football based on movement, technical qualities and mobility, and I believe that both of the new signings can integrate well into the team," Wenger said.

"One is a defender who can play on the flank and centrally, and one is a striker with a very good goalscoring record, so I believe that they are great additions to the team," said the veteran French manger.

"It's a good opportunity as well to have a first look at how well and how quickly they will integrate with the way we want to play," The Arsenal boss concluded.

The Arsenal start their pre-season playing Sydney FC first and then face Western Sydney Warriors in Sydney.

Folowing that will travel to Shangai and play Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich. Finally play English Premier League winners Chelsea at Beijing to round off their tour.

Here are the pre-season tour fixtures for Arsenal:

1. Arsenal Vs Sydney FC on Thursday (July 13) at 3.30 PM IST - ANZ Stadium, Sydney

2. Arsenal Vs Western Sydney Warriors on Saturday (July 15) at 3.30 PM IST - ANZ Stadium, Sydney

3. Arsenal Vs Bayern Munich on Wednesday (July 19) at 4.50 PM IST - Shangai Stadium, Shangai

4. Arsenal Vs Chelsea on Saturday (July 22) at 5.10 PM IST - Bird's Nest Stadium, Beijing

There is still no information of the TV coverage for the aforementioned matches.

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