I am sure that most Arsenal fans will be hoping for more, with an experienced and quality centre back and another striker top of most Gooners’ wish lists, but I for one am really hoping to see the Leicester City and Algeria star Riyad Mahrez swap the east midlands and the King Power stadium for north London and the Emirates this summer.
There is still no real way of knowing if the Foxes will keep the PFA Premier League Player of the Year or not, so very little clue will be talked about, including the events in Sweden yesterday, when Leicester played their final pre-season friendly game against the Spanish La Liga champions Barcelona.
Just as in the other pre-season matches, Claudio Ranieri included Mahrez in his squad and the Algerian forward started the match. This could be taken as a sign that Ranieri is still determined to keep the player and perhaps even that he is confident of it.
On the other hand you could take the fact that Mahrez may as well not have been on the pitch for all the impact he had before being subbed off at the break as a sign that he is ready to leave. And there was another piece of encouragement for Arsenal fans to focus on, as the new Leicester striker Ahmed Musa, signed from CSKA Moscow this summer, scored a fantastic couple of goals after coming on for the second half.
Could having a player who looks ready to replace Mahrez might make Leicester more willing to sell?
Bob.