Arsenal had an agreement with Layvin Kurzawa to join them on a free transfer before he signed a new four-year deal at PSG, which in hindsight looks like he used Arsenal to earn a new contract.
Kurzawa had entered the final year of his previous deal at the Parc des Princes and Arsenal wanted a top option to rival Kieran Tierney this season.
Several teams wanted to sign Kurzawa for free, but the Gunners remained confident that they stood a chance of landing him.
After he extended his deal with the French side, it seemed that reports that Arsenal had been close to signing him were false.
However, L’Equipe via Sport Witness is now reporting that the Gunners came close to signing him.
The report said he had even reached an agreement with them before he made a U-turn and remained in France.
Arsenal will need a new left-back in the summer as their reliance on only Tierney proved to be a bad idea this season with injuries robbing him of the chance to play in several games.
They have been linked with the likes of Ryan Bertrand who is leaving Southampton following his failure to agree on a new deal with them.
Have heard a lot of good reports about young Joel Lopez but unfortunately, I have not seen him play.Is he good enough to be the back up we need for Tierney.Having seen Josh Doig of Hibs over three consecutive matches, in my opinion he is not yet good enough to perform in the EPL .Bertrand, I believe is likely to move to Leicester where he will be first choice LB rather than Arsenal where he would be first reserve.
Grandad
Very interesting take on Lopez at LB. Maybe it is worth bringing him up to learn and be an emergency option. We only have PL and domestic cup games next year, so Cedric can deputize for Tierney if need be, Chambers can do a job on the right side.
Lopez can spend a year with the team, and next summer they can evaluate and decide if funds need to be spent on backup LB.
Hopefully Lopez will get a run in preseason games and the club can go from there.