Former France international Alexandre Lacazette returned to Ligue 1 side Lyon on a free transfer five years after he joined Arsenal for a then club-record fee of 46.5 million pounds ($58 million).

The 31-year-old striker underwent a medical on Wednesday before signing a three-year contract with the club where he made his name after coming through the youth system.

Olympique Lyonnais (OL) held a press conference Thursday to announce his return to the Ligue 1 club.

Lyon said in a statement that Lacazette's return had been a priority for several months so as to "infuse a new dynamic" into the team which finished a disappointing eighth in last season's championship.

Lacazette – capped 16 times from 2013 to 2017 – scored 129 goals in 275 matches in his previous spell at Lyon before Arsenal came calling in 2017 when Arsene Wenger was still in charge.

The deal – up to 52.6 million pounds with add-ons – surpassed the 42.4 million pounds Arsenal paid Real Madrid for Mesut Özil in 2013.

He went on to score 71 goals in 206 appearances for the Gunners winning the FA Cup in 2017 and was a member of the side that lost in the 2019 Europa League final.

He was handed the captaincy last season after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – who has since joined Barcelona – was stripped of it due to a disciplinary breach.