Speaking recently on The Chronicles of a Gooner podcast, Adrian Clarke discussed Arsenal’s links with Lyon midfielder Houssem Aouar.
Since making his Lyon debut as an 18-year-old back in 2017, Aouar has gone on to make 137 appearances for the club, scoring 24 goals and providing 27 assists along the way.
Last season, the 22-year-old enjoyed a very fine campaign both domestically and in Europe, scoring three goals and providing four assists over his 25 Ligue 1 appearances, averaging a WhoScored match rating of 7.02/10, while in the Champions League, he scored one goal and provided four assists over eight appearances, averaging a match rating of 7.55 – helping his side reach the semi-finals of the competition.
As a result of these fine performances, there has been a great deal of interest in the French U21 international, with Manchester City and Arsenal both said to be keen on bringing the midfielder to the Premier League this summer.
Aouar was one topic of conversation on a recent episode of The Chronicles of a Gooner podcast, with Clarke stating his belief that the 22-year-old ‘would be transformational’ for Mikel Arteta’s side.
He said: “I love him. He is a box-to-box midfielder with real skill, [an] electric turn of pace inside the opposition half, he can scamper away from players. Without the ball, as well, what I noticed in the Champions League was how quick he wants to go and close players down.
“We know that Arteta wants to press, he wants to win the ball in really good areas, and I just think Aouar, he’s got it all, really, in terms of being able to get in the faces of opponents and win it, and then deliver the right passes, the right pieces of skill, [and] even good finishes.
“I remember first seeing him against City last year in the Champions League, and [Lyon] were brilliant, they beat City – and I thought: ‘Who’s this guy?’ I was like: ‘This kid can play.’
“From what I’ve seen – I don’t see him every week, clearly – and from what I gather, he is continuing to improve. [He’s a] great age – 22 – and, for me, he would absolutely be on a par with Thomas Partey in terms of targets. I think that that we need both types of players and if we got both, it would be transformational on the side.”
Do you think Aouar will be an Arsenal player before the start of next season?
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TIF Thoughts…
From Clarke’s comments, it would very much appear as if he is a fan of Aouar, and believes that he would fit Arteta’s style of football magnificently.
We have to say, from the £44.55 million-rated man’s performances in the Champions League, it is hard to disagree with the idea that he could be a great addition to the Arsenal side.