After the summer transfer window closed with Arsenal having signed just two new players and one of those having come to us on a free transfer, there was always going to be a lot of finger pointing and questions asked about the way the club is run and, more specifically, what Arsene Wenger was messing about at.
Maybe that is why the Frenchman has felt the need to reveal that the Gunners did try to sign the France international star Thomas Lemar from AS Monaco and also that Arsenal were ready to spend a king’s ransom to get him. The boss also declared his intention to try again to sign the talented 21-year old, whether it be when the winter transfer window opens in January or at the end of the current season, reports Sky Sports.
Wenger said, “Yes, we bid €100m for Lemar but the player wanted to stay in Monaco.
“Yes, we’ll come back in for him.”
The question we have to ask is, how will Wenger convince Lemar to sign for Arsenal in the future after he turned down the move this summer? Well maybe we will be helped by what happens with his current club this season. Monaco produced a surprise last season by beating the expensively assembled PSG to the French Ligue 1 title so it could be a similar situation to what we saw with Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez at Leicester City.
Lemar may well be happy to stay and see how his team get on in the Champions League this year and how they follow up last season’s exploits in the domestic league. If things do not go so well he would probably be much more willing to accept a transfer away.
At the same time I think the Gunners have to show that we are a club worth signing for that is going places and that was not really the case in the last weeks of the transfer window. Had Wenger offered big money after beating Chelsea and winning the Community Shield things might have been different and Lemar might be an Arsenal player right now.
Do you think Wenger and Arsenal can convince him before January that he should come to north London?
Bob.