What Wenger Has Planned-
Recent reports suggest that Arsene Wenger is willing to sell a few players at Arsenal to raise funds for AS Monaco striker Thomas Lemar and other stars that he might wish to sign. The Gunners are looking to strengthen their squad for next season as they prepare for life without the Champions League.
Having already lost out on Tiemoue Bakayoko’s to Chelsea and with Benjamin Mendy’s expected move to Manchester City, who have already signed Bernardo Silva from the Ligue 1 champions, Monaco may resist parting with any more stars from their squad.
Kylian Mbappe is also one of the strikers that could move to either Barcelona or Real Madrid, so the French club may not agree to sell Lemar.
Monaco has slapped a hefty £80m price tag on the French forward, demanding he will not be sold for any less.
Many clubs are not ready to pay the price for Lemar, but with the recent links with a move to the Emirates, Wenger may not be able to afford the starlet as well, after splashing out transfer funds on Alexandre Lacazette and Saed Kolasanic.
However, Wenger is now ready to sell of the players that are unwanted at Arsenal so that he can follow-through with a move for Lemar.
Newcastle United manager Rafael Benitez is interested in signing Arsenal full backs Kieran Gibbs and Carl Jenkinson.
Calum Chambers is among the other defenders that Crystal Palace manager Frank de Boer is linked with on bringing him to Selhurst Park on a permanent move.
Goal-keeper Wojciech Szczesny joined Italian champions Juventus for a fee of £10m, after spending the last two seasons out on loan with AS Roma.
Lucas Perez is offered with a £12m move by Deportivo La Coruna, but Arsenal want more for the striker and Olivier Giroud is also wanted by English clubs Everton and West Ham for a fee of £30m.
There are also rumors of Arsenal letting go of Jack Wilshere on a permanent move to Bournemouth as his future seems uncertain.
All these players’ exit could be an allowance for 21 year old Lemar, who can play anywhere along the front-line or even as a main striker.
The French international scored 14 goals and made 14 assists in 41 appearances last term which played a massive part on Monaco lifting the Ligue 1 title.
What Does It Mean For Arsenal?
Though losing players is never a good sign, Wenger’s plan of letting some of the stars go in order to add more quality signings, could be a good one, if the deals that he intends to get done in the days to follow, do go through. The French manager still wishes to add more quality talent to his current team, in order to win titles in the days to come.
This might urge him to sell first and then buy more as well. It will be interesting to see which players now leave the Emirates, after the departure of Szczesny.
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