Arsenal looked for a midfielder in the final weeks of the transfer window before they eventually landed Thomas Partey.
The Ghanaian had been a long-term target of theirs, but as they struggled to sign him, they looked at alternatives.
They considered moves for Lyon’s Houssem Aouar and Chelsea’s Jorginho.
The Gunners placed a bid for the Frenchman, but it wasn’t good enough to take him away from his club.
They were eventually told that it was too late for him to be sold and the Gunners made a late move for Partey.
ESPN as cited by the Mirror is now claiming that the major reason why Arsenal’s bid to land Aouar failed was because of the fee demanded by his agent to get the deal done.
The report claims that Aouar’s brother, Brahim who also acts as his agent demanded that the Gunners paid a £10m fee before he would broker the move.
The Gunners refused to pay that much for that purpose and he remained at the French side.
Aouar is one of the best midfielders in Europe at the moment, but most Arsenal fans will probably be happier that the Gunners signed Partey instead.
The Ghanaian has proven to be a solid player and if he performs the way he did in Spain, then Arsenal will be glad that they signed him.
