Lyon striker Alexandre Lacazette is having a medical at Arsenal before becoming their record transfer signing.
The Gunners had an initial bid for the 26-year-old France international rejected, but talks continued.
His fee is expected to surpass the £42.4m Arsenal paid Real Madrid for Mesut Ozil in 2013.
Lacazette scored 28 goals in Ligue 1 – the French top flight – last season, a tally bettered by only Paris St-Germain’s Edinson Cavani, with 35.
He has scored 129 goals in 275 matches in all competitions since breaking into the first team in the 2009-10 campaign.
Lacazette, who has won 11 caps for France, has been linked with several top clubs and looked set to join Atletico Madrid before their transfer ban was upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Last week Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis promised fans “top-quality” summer signings during a question-and-answer session.
Left-back Sead Kolasinac, who joined from Schalke, is Arsenal’s only recruit since the end of last season.
BBC Sports