Arsenal and Chelsea can forget about getting Mahrez this summer

Arsenal have been targeting a winger for most of the summer after previously looking into the availability of Henrik Mkhitaryan and Julian Draxler, both of whom Arsenal have failed in their attempts to sign.

Mkhitaryan was snapped up by Manchester United from Borussia Dortmund, in a move that surely must’ve been lucrative given a lack of Champions League football, whilst Draxler has been told by his club Wolfsburg that he won’t be allowed to leave this summer, despite having strong intentions to do so. Arsenal therefore turned their attention to the PFA Player of the Year and Leicester City star Riyad Mahrez, who despite winning the Premier League in unbelievable fashion last year, is looking to move on to pastures new this summer.

Arsenal supposedly had an opening bid of £30 million rejected for Mahrez by Leicester, a ridiculously small amount given the quality of the player in today’s pricey market. Some reports have since gone on to suggest that Wenger has upped the price to £35 million, but Sky Sports suggest that Arsenal never made a bid and that it’s all media speculation. However whatever the deal currently stands at, one thing for sure is that Mahrez will surely begin the season at Leicester, with the Algerian set to be named in the side that take on Hull on Saturday.

Mahrez had also previously been spotted in London, staying at the same hotel as the Chelsea team and boss Conte, but no official reports seem to have materialised on any potential deal since then.

Mahrez has therefore come to accept that he will more than likely be staying at Leicester this summer for the duration of the campaign, despite his apparent desire to move elsewhere. The Guardian has confirmed that Leicester have made it abundantly clear that the Player-of-the-Year will not be moving on anywhere else in this current transfer window..

By AH