Should Arsenal pay more for Lemar or turn to Mahrez?

It would appear that Arsene Wenger is still no closer to a second Arsenal signing of the summer transfer window, despite the reports that our manager has made at least two fairly sizable bids for players. We have no idea how much was offered for Alexandre Lacazette but we have been told by his French club Lyon that the price will be the same as that agreed with Atletico Madrid before the Spanish club was hit with a transfer ban.

Arsenal fans are now hearing in a report by The Telegraph that our bid of around £30 million for the Monaco and France international star Thomas Lemar has been turned down. So assuming this news from France is correct, what should Wenger do now?

The report suggests that Monaco’s rejection of our offer may cause the Arsenal boss to switch his focus to the Leicester City and Algeria attacker Riyad Mahrez who is likely to cost a fair bit more than Lemar, with £50 million being talked about.

I thought we might be going for both to be honest, as they operate on different sides of the pitch but if it is to be just one then which would you prefer? If it is just a matter of money, the fact that Wenger is thinking about Mahrez who is the costlier anyway tells me that he reckons Mahrez would be the better signing for us.

So what is he waiting for?

Bob.

41 Comments

  1. Reports seem to indicate that Monaco no longer wish to sell Lemar. Dont know what the player thinks. But if it’s true I would suggest that Wenger gets the Mahrez deal done and then looks at sorting out other positions.

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  3. If Lemar is truly valued by Wenger offer $40M and see if Monaco remove the untouchable label on there French superstar.

    Mahrez is a fantastic player but $50M for his signature is a ridiculous amount to spend on a one dimensional player that possesses the same defensive mentality as Ozil.

    Seri or Goretska would walk into the Arsenal first team but sadly Wenger sees Ramsey as the future of the franchise and would never jeopardize his place by adding a better player.

    Love to be wrong but just dont see Wenger splashing the necessary cash for Lacazette.

    And a free transfer it just might be.

    1. When Wenger and Gazidis were in Nice I was hoping they would secure Seri while they were there. Would slot right in and partner Xhaka.

  4. Everton signed
    Pickford for 30 mil,
    Davy Klassan for 25mil
    Sandro Ramirez for 5.5mil release clause
    Henry Onyekuru for 7mil.
    And I am told that they are very much confident in getting Sigurdsson.
    They are doing thier business early and are prepared to get into Champions league spot next season.
    Just imagine having these guys in your team.
    Lukaku,Sandro,Barkley,Sigurdsson,Davy Klassan(This guy is exceptionally talented and a leader,in 2 years all big clubs will be after him)
    This team can give a tough fight to even mancity and Chelsea.

    Arsenal have Giroud,Walcott,Welbeck,elneny,Ramsey, Coquelin.
    Just compare the above list with ours.
    And we have signed
    Sead kolasinac for free
    We were interested in Onyekuru and Sandro Ramirez but lost out to Everton. FFS Everton?
    And A**hole like Wenger say that we are heading in the right direction.

    He will keep on trying to buy mbappe,lemar,lacazete till he could say a year or so later that “I TRIED TO SIGN MBAPPE,LEMAR, LACAZETE” when they become world class players for Madrid and Barcelona just like he said about Ronaldo,messi etc

    And on top of all this A**holes who support Wenger still believe he is the right man

    1. I’ve been saying for at least two years that Arsenal is gradually turning into an Everton.
      I guess it’s finally happening.
      If Ozil leaves we’ll have zero top players at the club. Imagine that. A club that was supposed to compete with the likes of Bayern Munich – statement of club’s CEO, has zero top players in a season when the stadium debt is long gone. In a season we’re supposed to be one of the major title contenders, we’ll be battling for the blooming top 5.
      This club has become the biggest fraud in the history of football, a club that has zero respect for it’s fans.
      How do they expect us to support them, when they’re obviously and intentionally degrading the club?

    2. Mate take a chill pill already! Arsenal were never interested in Onyekuru or Sandro. Add those two to Klaasan if you wish but they aren’t world class players! The above players will gladly sit on Arsenals’ bench and learn. Sanchez and Ozil are world class(you already know). Add a 20-25 goal a season striker to that attack and a midfielder to partner Xhaka and your firing to trophies! Comparing Everton to Arsenal is tragic…we are miles apart!

  5. Makes me sad that usmanov is excluded from the board I bet he would sanction money to go out and get the players we want look at Everton buying all they want with his partners money while we procrastinate till all the good players are gone offer 120million for Mbappe try their resolve we always seem to get to the platform after the train has left.

  6. Every where I turn I see Lacazette, Lamar or Mbappe. While I would absolutely love them at the club, how come there isn’t any mention of a partner for Xhaka. Surely Ramsey or the Ox or not the long term solutions are they? It would be a matter of time before we get found out there even with the change of formation.

  7. I will choose Lemar, because he’s Versatile compared to Mahrez. i mean he can play in different positions
    (2) Lemar is younger,about 5 years plus.
    (3) Lemar can do everything Mahrez does and do better, but Mahrez can’t do everything Lemar does.
    (4) Lemar fits in well into our new 3.4.2.1 system more than Mahrez. Check what i mean bellow
    ——————–Mbappe/Aubameyang/Aguero/Lacazette/Giroud/Wel————–
    ————–Sanhez/Lemar/Mbape……………..Ozil/Lemar/walcot—————
    Lemar/Monreal/Kolasoniac——–Xhaka/coq———Ramsey/ox/carzola———————ox/Bellerin
    Kolasoniac/Holding/Monreal——-Koscenly/Per./Holding……………….Mustafi/Gabby/Chambers
    Don’t give me turn downs on strikers…….i just use them as illustrations, i myself know we can’t them some of them

    1. My ideal and best position for him in the same 3.4.2.1 formation and realistic transfer signings would be

      ———–Lacazette————
      Sanchez———–Ozil
      Lemar—Ramsey—Xhaka—-Ox/Bellerin
      Kolasoniac—–Koscenly—Mustafi

  8. Obvious answer is Lemar, but realistically speaking, I dont understand why Monaco would want to sell Lemar and Mbappe considering they lost Bakayoko, B Silva who are key key player in their success last season. If Mbappe is sold to Madrid, we have greater chance of signing Lemar since it would create the domino effect.

    I think Mahrez can add quality to our team but I dont see where hed suit in our new formation, considering the right wing is push backed to a deeper position, if he cuts inside it would really destroy the purpose of the formation. Unless he is a left winger, but then Kolasinac is also there (Monreal, Gibbs, Chambo too)

    1. If Bakayoko goes too well then that should be enough to begin a domino effect. Not fair allowing two young players join a dream club then them stopping another. Lemar would have good reason to push for a move.

  9. Mahrez was very important to Leicester winning the Title. 17 goals 11 assists
    Last year he was awful (6 goals 3 assists) but so was the whole team to be fair

    Monaco doesn’t want to sell Lemar. I don’t know if they want more money or really are not willing to sell him. Lemar scored 9 goals and 10 assists in ligue 1, but he is only 21

    I wish we could get both really
    But if I chose 1 it would be Mahrez because he has Premier League experience

    However, neither will be important if we lose Alexis and don’t get a World Class replacement (ie Mbappe, Aubemeyang, Lewandowski, Lacazette, Aguero etc)

    1. What if Lemar is supposed to be our Santi replacement, or groomed to be it. And he meant it when he said Alexis will have to honor his contract because he’s not going anywhere. Would you still prefer Mahrez even though Thomas Lemar can play both sides whilst being groomed for central role in the meantime.

      1. He won’t be a Cazorla replacement. He is best on the wings. Even Ox has a better chance of replacing Cazorla than Lemar. His skills are not conducive to Cazorla’s position. Anyway, that would be years down the line. He’s only 21.

        But again realistically it’s a moot point because I don’t believe he will be coming anyway.

  10. How many of you think Wenger is the reason that we are in such a miserable situation.
    When we finished 5th,any proud man would have walked away saying I failed but Wenger is so shameless that he signs extension.
    Then he starts doing what he has been doing for last 5 yrs , penny pinching , indecisive about players to sign, messing up contract extension of good players, giving new contracts to people who don’t deserve it but still we have the AKBs who think he is the best man for this job.
    He will run us to ground before he leaves.

    1. Wenger can’t be preparing players each week and sitting down going through mountains of paperwork and doing talks over contracts. That much is obvious.

    2. I agree.
      I reckon he’ll sh***t all over his legacy by the time he leaves. I expect us to finish 6th or 7th this term, and even worse next term.
      In a way, that might be a good thing. Because by the season 2019/2020 Arsenal shares will lose some of it’s value. That’s the season we change the manager, and history proves that changing the manager means not doing that great in the league, so that season means top 10-5 at best.
      Year 2020 is when crazy billionaire Dangote will become significantly richer, as his oil business will start paying off. That’s the time he can offer the lizard person alien life form from dimension Greed – satan kroenke 5 billion or more for his shares and Arsenal will finally get back on track.
      All we, as fans, need is a lot of patience and a lot of praying, especially if you’re Kelechi 😀

  11. Honestly, these stupid ‘adios’ ads are taking over my screen before I can read the articles! You can’t even exit them…

  12. Wenger is back to his useless self making a fool of himself wherever he goes. I think he only bids because he is desperate for the attention.

    #outmeansout

  13. I think Monaco are now taking the piss. 30m we offered and were coming back with a higher one, that sounds reasonable to me. He’s only 21, he has good stats but hardly Alexis Sanchez quality. We paid 30 odd mil for Alexis, and he was proven and in his prime. This Monaco owner has numbers on the head because of Mbappe. They sold Silva sharply enough, then they make a fuss when we come in offering similar numbers to what city paid. There is a risk with transfers, if he doesn’t score or create in England sure that will be that money flushed down the drain. It’s no guarantee that he will do well. I think between 30 and 40 is very fair, to go over 40 is too fair.

    1. Also, a thought just occurred to me. Why would Monaco have a reason to be wary of Arsene, one word. Mbappe. Look what happened last season after Wenger tried for Mbappe. They prob think the smart thing is to hold onto Lemar esp if a fair bid comes in from Wenger.

    2. Positively true. Unless any player linked with us can in some way guarantee us success and justify their transfer fee, then it could be money badly spent !

      Clubs nowadays, know that they can ask stupid money for average players just because those players names are on everyone’s lips and doing the rounds. If the parent clubs were absolutely convinced that this player is truly one for the future and has all the potential and ability to make his mark right now, they wouldn’t sell him and put someone of lesser ability up for grabs instead !

      Arsenal are a rich club but we shouldn’t be held to ransom with what’s currently on the market !

    1. I would think so considering no other big clubs want him since he flopped hard under Wenger’s guidance

      1. Last season yes but not the season before where he led the premier league in assists and nearly broke Henry’s record. We finished 2nd that season

        In fact, Fabregas had a bad season that year too. If a team plays poorly even top players play poorly

        If we sign a top CF I guarantee that Ozil will shine like he did 2015-2016

  14. I am just going with the opinion that the team will not be strengthened this summer and that Sanchez will leave.
    I believe that will be the case and therefore I will not be disappointed.
    Actually, I don’t feel I can be any more disappointed after it was announced that he had accepted a two year extension – we all know this is not an extension and come summer 2019 he will be offered another “extension” and so forth until he is a dribbling vegetable riddled with dementia.
    Catalyst for change.
    Arsenal is a dictatorship not a football club.
    “Manager for Life” just like Jean Claude Duvalier was “President for Life” in Haiti

  15. What is with moderation ?
    I though the headline at the top said “anyone can post”
    Anyone that fits the bill more like…

  16. Being an arsenal supporter during transfer window is like being a kid with no taste buds in a sweet shop, you just can’t enjoy yourself. Come to that, bit like that during the season too.

  17. Would prefer Lemar. He will cost less, is younger, works hard without the ball and is more versatile. Lemar can play as a LM, CAM and even a bit deeper as a CM or LWB. The one thing that concerns me is that I feel we might have moved too slowly for him. Monaco will sell most of their stars this year because their business model is to buy cheap and sell for large profits but they will not sell all their best players. Bernardo Silva has left and it seems like Fabinho, Bakayoko, Mendy and maybe Mbappe will follow. I’m not sure they’ll sell Lemar as well. Whoever is in charge of transfers should have anticipated this and moved for Lemar last month if they really wanted him, like how City did with Bernardo Silva. We just seem to dither too much with transfers.

  18. Arsene and the board members are not serious…the think of money more than success..we need players more than any team in the top..u think this players will take us to anywere..until wenger stop seeing 4th place as a trophy we wil NEVER win the league under him again

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