Speaking recently on an episode of the Ask Ornstein YouTube show, David Ornstein discussed Arsenal’s failed bid for Olympique Lyon midfielder Houssem Aouar.
A product of the Lyon youth system, making his first-team debut as an 18-year-old back in 2017, Aouar has gone on to feature 141 times for his hometown club, scoring 25 goals and providing 27 assists along the way.
Last season, the £44.55 million-rated 22-year-old highly impressed for Les Gones, scoring three goals, providing four assists and averaging a WhoScored match rating of 7.02/10 over his 25 appearances in Ligue 1 – ranking him as the club’s joint-fourth-best performer in the league.
His form was also impressive in Europe, with the midfielder scoring one goal, providing four assists and averaging a WhoScored match rating of 7.55 over his eight appearances in the Champions League – helping his side to reach the semi-finals of the competition.
Following his impressive displays, interest was said to be high in the player over the summer transfer window, with Juventus Manchester City and Arsenal all reported to be keen on the 22-year-old.
However, Arsenal then appeared to become the protagonists in the pursuit of the midfielder, with Mikel Arteta’s side said to have lodged a bid for Aouar which was knocked back by the French side before the transfer deadline passed, with the player remaining at Lyon.
The club’s failed move for the Frenchman was one topic of conversation on a recent episode of the Ask Ornstein YouTube show, in which Ornstein provided some insight to what happened with the deal.
He said: “At the same time as looking into a holding central midfielder, Arsenal wanted a more attacking one, an eight or a 10 – in the form of Houssem Aouar at Lyon.
“Negotiations took place, Arsenal were optimistic, but as the weekend before the deadline neared, an agreement could not be reached between the two clubs, and Arsenal weren’t going to be held to ransom or become too fixated on one player at any expense.”
Do you think Arsenal will go back in for Aouar in the future?
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TIF Thoughts…
From Ornstein’s comments, it is clear that the journalist is of the belief that Arsenal did not make a further bid for Aouar as they did not want to pay more than what they felt comfortable with spending on the player, with the club being wary of the fact that Lyon may not have fairly negotiated the fee for the midfielder as they knew how much Arsenal wanted to sign him.
However, from their reported interest over the summer, in our opinion, it would not be surprising to see the north London side go back in for the 22-year-old in January, or perhaps next summer – something which former Arsenal striker Kevin Campbell also believes could happen.
For now, though, the player will be remaining in France, so we will simply have to wait and see what the future holds for Aouar.