In an era where money is almost literally no object to Premier League football clubs in the transfer market, Arsenal’s summer seems to hang quite dramatically on whether a top class player leaves, not whether one arrives.

Arsene Wenger finds himself in a strikingly similar position to the summer of 2012, when Robin van Persie, with one year left on his contract, pined for a move to Manchester to help United wrest back the Premier League title after a year of stagnation.

This time, it’s not Van Persie and United, but Alexis Sanchez and Manchester City. And Arsenal are left trying to decide whether selling to a top-of-the-table rival is acceptable when it comes to extracting some value from a player who can leave on a free transfer next season.

This time last year, Arsenal seemed to be in need of a striker. Sanchez and Ozil were seen as the only players in the squad who could have been considered genuine top quality, but an upgrade on Olivier Giroud looked necessary. And in the end, despite flat-out refusing to pay a reported £34m release clause for Alexandre Lacazette, that’s exactly what Wenger did.

Now, though, Arsenal seem prepared to sign the Frenchman for even more than they refused to pay this time last year. A development that seems even odder given that, a year on, the weakest part of the Gunners’ team seems to be in the centre of midfield, not attack. Last season, Sanchez bagged 30 goals in all competitions, so clearly that area isn’t an issue. Not unless he’s definitely leaving.

The reality is, an attacker as good as the Chilean will be a threat from anywhere he plays. And that means even adding Lacazette isn’t, by itself, enough to speculate about Sanchez’s exit. They could definitely play together. But given the fact that Arsenal are spending more money than they would have done had they signed the Frenchman last year, it seems more likely that he’s a replacement for Sanchez than a partner for him.

Quite clearly this is a backwards step. In each of the last four seasons, Lacazette has scored more than 20 goals, showing his consistency and the fact that he’s one of the better strikers in Europe, even if he has yet to prove himself outside of France. Last season, though, he scored 28 goals in 30 league games despite Lyon’s struggles. His club side slumped to a disappointing fourth place finish below the exciting Nice side who grabbed the last Champions League spot, yet that was a disappointment, especially in light of Monaco’s success in the league last season. Lyon have to wonder what would have been had they managed to keep the pace. Defeats both at home and away to relegated Lorient show just how bad it could get.

Despite that, though, Lacazette managed 37 goals in all competitions. He clearly knows where the net is, and even if he’s not the world class talent that Sanchez is, or even if he doesn’t provide as much to the team in terms of build-up play that the Chilean does, the Frenchman still clearly has his uses. Primarily as a goal poacher – something Arsenal have needed since Van Persie’s departure, Sanchez’s talent notwithstanding.

The problem is that whoever Arsenal sign in this window – barring one of the world’s top talent’s, of course – would be a downgrade on Sanchez should he leave. Lacazette would be no different. But if he stays, that would change the equation massively. And it would give Wenger a huge amount of options.

He could choose to stick with the back-three formation which won the FA Cup and lost only once – at White Hart Lane – in the final few months of the season. In that case, Sanchez could still reprise a central striking role alongside Lacazette in a 3-5-2, taking a more of a second-striker position, dropping deeper to support when necessary. In a 3-4-3, the Chilean might become more of an inside forward, something like the role Eden Hazard played for Chelsea last season.

Or, and perhaps given Wenger’s attitude to footballing tactics over the last two decades this is more likely, Arsenal could return to their habitual 4-2-3-1, with Lacazette up front and Sanchez roaming in from the wing as one of the three attacking midfielders behind the striker. That would represent perhaps the most regressive step Wenger could make, even if Sanchez does stay: it would be exactly the sort of system he could have played last season with Lacazette up front, but could have signed the Lyon striker for a much lower fee.

But whatever happens, Arsenal are still sweating on Sanchez. If he stays, Lacazette will be an upgrade whatever happens, adding a lethal striker to partner one of last season’s top scorers in attack. If Sanchez goes, then Lacazette as replacement starts to look a little inadequate, and Wenger must find a way to gear the attack towards him, as his link-up play often leaves quite a bit to be desired.

Looking around the Premier League, this looks like a summer of unlimited money. And yet Arsenal still look like they’re playing damage limitation.

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