There are interesting reports from France today saying that Arsenal’s big transfer target from the summer, Houssem Aouar, has been dropped from the Lyon squad to face Reims today.
An article in L’Equipe was headlined “Houssem Aouar sanctioned and dismissed for Olympic Lyon v Reims .
The Lyon leader, who refused to do physical training after the meeting in Angers on Sunday (1-0), was sanctioned and deprived of a match by his club. He will not be in the group on Sunday (1 p.m.) against the Champenois.”
We all know that, along with Thomas Partey, Aouar was one of Arteta’s biggest targets this summer, as confirmed by the Lyon general manager Vincent Ponsont who said at the end of the transfer window: “We had three big clubs for him. The first one was more for next season,” he told L’Equipe (via Sport Witness).
“The second one was related to the departure of a player, and with this club, we could have come to an agreement. The third club was Arsenal, who offered below the market value.
“We discussed it with the player’s entourage, and together we took the decision to say no.
“The priority for us was clearly to keep the team competitive. For us, the market was over, but the coach told us that we were missing a lateral defender and then a central defender.
“But in the medium term, if Mediapro doesn’t pay and the Covid continues, it will be the same.”
So that sounds like they could still be open to selling Aouar this January, and could it be possible that the Lyon-born midfielder is trying to persuade the French club to make a decision on selling him in January?
Arsenal could certainly do with someone like him right now!