Charles Watts, the Arsenal correspondent for Goal, has provided the club’s supporters with an update on where the club is in terms of its pursuit of Houssem Aouar on his YouTube channel.
The Lyon midfielder continues to be linked with a move to the Emirates Stadium and reports emerged last week that the Gunners had seen a formal bid rejected for the 22-year-old after Jean-Michel Aulas went public via social media.
Speaking on Monday, Watts had this to say on the transfer saga:
“Where we are is just waiting for Arsenal’s next offer. We know they made one offer for the Lyon midfielder and that offer was rejected out of hand by Lyon. Lyon’s president has obviously gone very public on it.
“Aulas [is] doing what he always does when it comes to transfers, very much playing a strong hand and demanding more money. We know that’s his way.
“He can be saying constantly a transfer is not going to happen and then it happens, we saw that with [Alexandre] Lacazette.
“So, the fact that he’s come out like that and said what he’s had to say, I certainly wouldn’t think that it means that Arsenal are not going to get Aouar.
“They clearly made a big, big move for him in the last week or so and that’s not going to stop from just one bid being rejected, Arsenal will go back with a second.”
Do you expect Arsenal to sign Aouar between now and the end of the transfer window?
Yes
No
TIF Thoughts…
Aouar is valued at £44.55m and made 25 appearances in Ligue 1 last season and according to WhoScored, his average performance rating was an impressive 7.02/10.
His strengths are said to be in his ability to pass well, dribble well and keep possession of the ball.
With question marks over the futures of Lucas Torreira and Matteo Guendouzi (as per the Times via Team Talk), in our view, it is important that Arsenal add another midfielder to the squad and based on the above, we think it is fair to say that the player would be a good fit.