Riyad Mahrez has made it very clear that he intends to leave Leicester this summer, but the club seem to be doing their upmost to put obstacles in his way. It seemed certain that Arsenal were going to sign the ex-Player-Of-The_season but with the Foxes reportedly raising the asking price from £35m to £50m for the Algerian, it would appear that the Gunners are now focusing on bringing in Thomas Lemar instead.
The Leicester boss Craig Shakespeare, is non-plussed with Mahrez’s attitude, and is adamant that the Foxes haven’t even received any official bids for the winger. He said: It can be disappointing when players go public with it but I think you have to understand the modern game,”
“Sometimes outside influences are secondary behind that and there can be reasons for that. Him coming out, we know where it stands, but ultimately he’s contracted to the football club.
“He has to be professional. We have to be professional with him. But more importantly he has to be committed and I think he has to show supporters, staff and players that.
“If he’s selected, he has to perform and, if he doesn’t show commitment, he won’t play. He’s got a contract with us, so he has to understand that.”
“We haven’t had any bids and, if we don’t have one, we’ve got no decision to make. Knowing him as I do, I think with Riyad he was just trying to be as honest as he can [with his statement].
“Of course it can disappoint the fans but I need to really sit down with him one-to-one and see where he’s at in his head and how he feels. I’ve always had a decent relationship with him.
“But if players want to go, ultimately they have contracts and they have to honour them. If they want to go and we get a bid, we’ll reflect on it.”
So what do we make of that? Mahrez obviously thinks Arsenal are interested and is pushing for a move, but perhaps Wenger is keeping Mahrez as a backup option in case he can’t prize Lemar away from Monaco. According to ESPN, The Ligue 1 champions rejected Arsenal’s €40 million bid and the Gunners have raised the bar with a new €45m offer. Whether that will be enough to temp Monaco remains to be seen, but as the French international is 5 years younger than Mahrez he would potentially be a much more interesting target than the 26 year-old Algerian.
Who do you think would be the better buy?
Admin
I know I’m being biased but Shakespeare or whoever is in charge of transfer fees put too high of a fee for Mahrez, so I’m not surprised he is upset. Also, he helped Leicester win the PL. I think £35 million was the right price considering he had a fantastic season and a dreadful season.
£50 million is too much
I’ve read we are interested in Marcos Ascensio and Lefont. Don’t know much about either. But hopefully we get Lemar
The price for Mahrez is realistic..he is a genius.
It has always been £50m.
Its take it or leave it…Both the manager and Owners have told him he will be a reserves player unless he changes his tune.
Arsenal are always unrealistic in their valuation of players..they simply don’t compete with the bigger clubs. If United, City, or Chelsea want a player…they pay the market rate.
Secondary clubs like Arsenal and Liverpool are now playing catch up.
Leicester and Everton have massive money now and are catching up with these clubs too.
Your a dreamer Arsenal a secondary club go back to whoever you supports website mate leave us alone. £50mil for a 1 season wonder whatever. Lacazette cost less and so will Lemar and both are superior players
Totally unrealistic, whereas £35million is probably about right. You are STUPID to think £50million is realistic. Especially after Mahrez toed the line for Leicester last season on the understanding his move away next season would be made easy. Mahrez has every right to be mad,
Also he did have a bad season last season, and he is certainly not getting any younger. Probably 25 to 30 million would really be more realistic.
So basically everything panned out as I said. Bids rejected improved bids made for LACALEMAR.
Admin won’t let me post anymore. I would like to apologise to admin for being way out of line earlier on and spamming the blog. I would like to be bale to post comments. I will stay within blog limits and guidelines from now onwards.
All that being said, I was right with everything I said.
If you post this thank you admin.
Nice one mate
To be fair mate- yes you were!
if not Lemar, i suggest Asensio is a very good player, I have seen him play at real and he is damn good …
I think for same amount of money I would go for Lemar over Mahrez.
Also Everton seem to be spending well this window.. I would go in for a bid for Gueye as our KANTE type player.. wpuld be relatively cheap and offer Giroud in return.. we have plenty of attacking options but no real DM.. thoughts ?
We have plenty of attacking options?
I guess… Just like not breathing is an option, not a long term one mind you 😛
Same thing for Welbeck and Theo. They are options like not breathing is an option, not one we should be looking to make.
Thoughts on DM…
We do have Coquelin and although his form might have dropped a bit last season, he is a DM. Xhaka is a strong deep lying playmaker and when he stays on his feet he is a hard player to get past. ElNeny is also more of a def minded B2B CM and not scared to put his foot into tackles.
IMO we have missed a link up CM more than a DM, we lost Cazorla and went from 50% clean sheets to being a joke 🙁 Formation change got us back up to 50% clean sheets again without Cazorla… Cazorla wasn’t our DM, he received the ball in def movements and was able to turn them into offensive movements and relieving pressure on the def.
Good point, we really need that steal in the middle to partner Xhaka or Carzola if he comes back after injury..
Lol ascensio signed a new contract with €350m release clause ????
I think we need Lemar first to secure attacking line n then arsene will see next time if DM is weak.
Never go to Madrid for a player. They pay unrealistic transfer fees and also ask for unrealistic transfer fees.
If we can get one of them and one strong defensive middfielder we will tek d Premiership by storm next season
Agree
We really need a defensive Midfielder
The PL winners usually have a top DM ie. Kante (Chelsea and Leicester), Matic, Toure, Carrick, Viera, Keane etc.
Wish we had got Kante last summer
There are still Carvalho, Gueye, Jorginho, Matuidi, Gonalons, Weigl etc
So how do you explain how AFC went from 50% clean sheets with CAZORLA who is not a DM to being a joke when we lost him?
It was not a DM that we lost and caused our season to fall apart, it was the CM who received the ball and got it out of our own half, who turned the movement into an attacking one for us.
I got to question what you mean by DM as well now, Vieira was B2B and Gilberto Silva was our DM during Vieiras peak years.
If we look at Yaya Toure, he was not a pure DM, yes he got back and helped defend but he was also making runs into the oppositions box, he was a B2B player and not a DM.
I can say the same for Kante, he gets forward to help attack or win the ball back while the opposition is on the back foot still and he gets back to put a tackle in.
Those players I just mentioned act more like a link between the def side to off side of the team, traits capable to aid both and as such get back and forth to do both. Players worthy of praise for the hard work they do. Calling them a DM is kinda insulting to the overall work they do for the team, they are more than just DMs.
Spot on mate, everyone seems to spout whatever nonsense they hear someone else talking and forget to think ??
Xhaka is already our defensive midfielder as wel
What makes u think Granit Xhaka won’t be better next season? He was effective towards the end of last season and I expect him to do even better this season.
@moleyfootball says fee of 46m has been agree for Lemar. Monaco giving us the green light to discuss personal terms
Lemar is a german? NEWS
Asensio has freakish pace.
Lemar is an amazing dribbler.
Any one of them would do.
Not sold on mahrez tho
If all this stories come true then next year we will be dancing with at least 2 or 3 trophies.
Our hopes are high.
Personally I haven’t seen much off Lemar other than the youTube clips off him and we all know they can make an average player look world class. The only games I have watched him play in was the champions league quarter finals and he looked an amazing talent. At 21 if we can get him at the right price I think he is the better option although I do think Arsenal we will see the Mahrez off 15/16 . Still when you take age into account and the fact that Wenger has an awesome record with young French attacking players I say Lemar all day. If we can’t get that deal done get Mahrez and try again for Lemar next summer. The stats don’t lie, 19 goals and 15 assists last year in all comps I think I read and at 21 I think he will be one off the best in the world in the next few years.
Sorry 14 goals and 14 assists in all comps last season I just checked
Thomas Lemar “likes” Lacazette on Instagram… Hint.. Nudge nudge wink wink
Looking good.
Is that €45m or £45m? In either case must be better value out there! Arsenal need a replacement for Cazola more.
And goretzka. PLEASE
Rudiger too. If we are going with a 3 man defence next season. Roma are selling all their stars so he is available
Why Arsen Wenger did not even bid for £35 M for Riyad Mahrez? Disappointed with their transfers.
Rudiger too. If we are going with a 3 man defence next season. He is a leader and we need one. Roma are selling most of their stars so he is available. Plus he is friends with mustafi
Mahrez won Leicester City the Premier League on you are not sure on him we still need two to three more quality signings don’t let your emotion Cloud your judgement even if we have Alexandre lacazette last season we still would not make top four are win the league Manchester United bought Paul Pogba henrikh mkhitaryan Slaton Ibrahimovic on still didn’t make top four what if we had bought them this up on coming season we would be over the moon right so if we keep Sanchez we need two players if not three more players Riyad mahrez Thomas Lemar Jamaican Siri William Carvalho leon goretzka
Since when number of signings equals something other than money spent? Chelsea bougth only 1 top players and they won PL.
I guess se cant win PL next season, as we already did 2 signings.
Man you should be shot..for miss spelling
Zlatan Ibrahimović name.
Lucas Moura, Douglas Costa and Lorenzo Insigne are viable options as well. If Monaco insist they aren’t selling, one of these would be ideal. Hoping Lemar will be done soon and then we pursue a CM or DM
Kape, thanks for providing options after all the thumbs down I received for posing the question of options.
Also Lemar has been left out of Monaco’s new kit launch . 🙂
Dont like rudiger? Suggest a better LCB
I’m still laughing at the fact that Spuds had #lemarpropoganda in early may and then reports came out that Lemar said London is red and then he liked a lacazette picture on twitter so we already know where he will head – but wait a minute didn’t Mbappe like that picture too? I’m not saying we are going to win the league but our transfer dealings so far has been mighty impressive to say the least. The hate from oppostion fans and the media let’s us know that they hate us because they ain’t us. All eyes are on us and it reminds us as fans that even though Wenger and our board have their failings, the man still got the pullling power and I will always give credit where it is due. It also shows you that the prestige and history of Arsenal is something that can never be forgotten.
Yes – impressed that Wenger has got to grips so quickly with the market change. He is no longer thinking that 40m is a top price to pay for anyone, which I think was a fear for a lot of us.
Many people are down on mahrez because of where is team finished in the table, Vardy , Kante and Mahrez were the main reason Leicester won the 15-16 EPL title, Kante left, Vardy could not score a goal and Mahrez lost some of is sparkle. He may not had scored many goals, made many assist, but he still created chances and made defenders quiver in fear when he approached with the ball. My point of View is he would be an ideal wide player for arsenal, creating chances for laca and company.
Lemar is a wonderful player and i think with us trying to buy him is for the sole purpose of filling the Cazorla slot, he is a very accurate crosser of the ball from the wing position, but passes which he does from the middle of the park is also interesting, that is what i think wenger wants him from him if he joins.
While Lemar might be the one of most importance to arsenal, it is a gamble and Mahrez have had several seasons of experience in the EPL at a weaker team.
My choice is Lemar, but i would also be very elated if Mahrez is the one we end up with
Do you guys think Lemar can play as a CM. Might be a good transition into Xhaka’s partner
I Like R.M And Lamer To Be In Arsenal And Allow Sanchas Live
Lemar is a fantastic player that can fit into any role in the midfield except DM couple with the fact that he is comfortable with both feet and can also score goals…..He is my choice any day. Come to think of it, Mahrez was an average player before Leicester won the league. He is also a one legged player who is most active on the right flank……so Lemar it is
What about Lukaku …only left leg also £90m ??? I question United dealings i think their desperate.
I never really understood the whole Lukaku thing – people were talking about him like he was Suarez or Henry. Back in the real world, I only see him as a small upgrade on Benteke, in that he is a bit more mobile, but hardly fleet of foot. Lukaku or Lacazette? I would go for Lacazette every time, even if he cost 20 million more.
Lukaku my left foot Lol, the guy is a small team player, Mourihno this days isnt injecting brain at all into his dealings… I now seems to love him, he should continue to err as we succeed.
My Advice To Alexis Sanchez To Cool His Mind And Sign New Concract. Forget The Money Issue And Get Regular Football At Emirrate Studium.
And who told you Wenger ain’t going for both…. don’t be surprised..
We have NOW to buy Lemar, next season he won’t be within our reach, I see great potential in him and he represents good business in the future, expect his prices to skyrocket next season. I would splash even £50mil for now, and that’s cool business. Signing him would as well mean two things; statement of intent to Sanchez for his consideration of staying, and telling him we have a ready made replacement for him if he leaves. Let’s avoid panicking, if Sanchez goes before we sign Lemar, his price will be hyped too because everyone will know we r desperate for his replacement.
Hmm, 1 question I would like to ask. Was Alexis Sanchez popular in Baca as he is in AFC? In my mind is popular rose high when he entered Arsenal . But I would like others to air their view. Yes he’s a fighter & the fans love him but his attitude in wanting to join city according what we are reading from the news is terrible & ugly. Some former players from AFC like Nasri, Clichy, VP did join Opposition club in the PL which doesn’t show any loyalty or love for the club that u once fought for in the PL.
Finally, money is not all to everything in this world!