Arsenal in for Late Thomas Lemar Swoop

In the before times, in the long, long ago, when the summer was fresh and Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal Football Club were not yet again in turmoil, the North London club were interested in bringing in Thomas Lemar from Monaco. Indeed, Arsenal even prepared a £55 million bid for the young, talented midfielder.

But an unwillingness to open up the check book for new talent has been a constant for Arsenal over the past several seasons, and their refusal to go big for Lemar cost them a chance at the player weeks ago.

Now, according to the Mirror, Arsenal are going to attempt a deadline day swoop for Lemar, but only if they can first raise funds by selling Alexis Sanchez. Bold strategy.

As we reported last night, Monaco have indicated a willingness to sell for €100 milion (£92.1 million). If £55 million was off-putting to Wenger, £92 million seems far too steep, even with a fresh injection of cash from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Sanchez sales. Moreover, it is an open question whether Arsenal—currently floundering in the Premier League and lacking Champions League—would remain a bigger draw than Klopp’s Liverpool.