Latest reports claim that Arsenal are close to signing Thomas Lemar from AS Monaco as Manchester City close in on Alexis Sanchez. The Manchester outfit has been hot on the Chilean’s heels throughout the summer and might just be able to land their cherished target on the last day of the transfer window.
Arsenal have also been long-term admirers of the French talisman but with Sanchez available in the side, they didn’t push the limit for the 21-year-old. Now with a do or die situation ahead of them and just hours to go, things might start falling in place for them. The Gunners head into the last hours of the transfer window with the manager under tremendous pressure.
The club has already sold Kieran Gibbs to West Bromwich Albion and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to Liverpool with no replacements in sight. Their last Premier League game result, which saw the North London side losing to Liverpool 4-0, has further aggravated the frustration among the fans. While the club had maintained their stance of not losing the Chilean at any cost, it would be really painful to let him go for free next season.
It is difficult to say if Lemar would be a like for like replacement for Sanchez, but he is one of the hottest young prospects in European football now and Wenger can have a long-term solution in him. Liverpool were close to signing Lemar earlier this week but they couldn’t come close to the asking price of the winger.
Alexis close to sign for City for £55 + £5. Arsenal asked for few hours to sign Thomas Lemar, which they confident they are going to do
— Guillem Balague (@GuillemBalague) August 31, 2017
Although Lemar had previously agreed on personal terms with Arsenal, the Gunners have never wanted to meet Monaco’s asking price. In fact, the manager last week had stated the Lemar deal was as good as ‘dead’.
When asked about the development, he said, “It’s dead… Monaco have closed the door definitely because there are ongoing cases with Mbappe and Fabinho. They lost Mendy, Silva and Bakayoko so Monaco are at the stage where they have closed the door. We have the numbers and quality to deal with that.”
The loss to Liverpool has, however, changed things over the last few days. And the fact that Lemar will bring more goals to the club remains undeniable. He has scored 9 goals and provided 11 assists last season and came to the fore for his versatility in the attacking third. A winger by nature, he can play brilliantly from the attacking midfield as well.
He is also Monaco’s best set-piece taker given his lethal left foot. And with the likes of Mesut Ozil, Alexandre Lacazette and Aaron Ramsey around him, he could be Arsenal’s missing piece of the puzzle.
