Arsenal 'unwilling to offer Alex Lacazette a new long-term contract but could offer him a shorter deal' after re-establishing himself as a key player under Mikel Arteta this season 

• Alexandre Lacazette's Arsenal contract expires at the end of this current season
• The Frenchman started the season slowly but is now a key player for the Gunners
• Lacazette is not in line for a long-term extension at Arsenal, according to reports
• The 30-year-old could get a shorter-term deal but no decision has been made 

Arsenal are unwilling to give Alexandre Lacazette a new long-term contract extension but could give the Frenchman a shorter one before his current deal expires, say reports.

The 30-year-old's current contract expires at the end of the season and Lacazette was tipped to leave the Gunners after he only played 50 minutes of Premier League football for the club before the October international break.

But the striker has found a way back into Mikel Arteta's starting line-up and is now paired alongside captain and talisman Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang with Arsenal winning six out of their last eight top-flight games.

And according to The Athletic, Arsenal could decide to give Lacazette a short-term contract at the end of the campaign but no decision has been made on the striker's future just yet.

Lacazette is now revelling in a new attacking midfielder role behind striker Aubameyang and has started the Gunners' last three league games - with the north Londoners picking up three points in each of them.

He netted his first Premier League goal of the season with a last-gasp equaliser at home to Crystal Palace last month while the striker has also scored in two Carabao Cup victories over West Brom and AFC Wimbledon. 

Gunners boss Arteta has remained coy on his French striker's future since the start of the season and revealed last month that the 30-year-old has 'quality'.  

Arteta said in October: 'We are focusing on getting the best out of Laca and he shows every day his commitment is here. 

'We just want to give him the right minutes so that he can show his quality and help the team to do better.'

Lacazette was Arsenal's top goalscorer last season with 17 goals in all competitions and has scored 68 times in 176 appearances since joining from Lyon for £52million in the summer of 2017. 

The Frenchman has registered double-digit goal tallies in each of his four Premier League seasons in north London, while he also has 29 Arsenal assists. 

Alongside Aubameyang and Lacazette, Arsenal have young forwards Gabriel Martinelli, Eddie Nketiah and Folarin Balogun as competition for the No 9 spot.