LYON, FRANCE - OCTOBER 4: Houssem Aouar of Olympique Lyon reacts during the Ligue 1 match between Olympique Lyon and Olympique Marseille at Groupama Stadium on October 4, 2020 in Lyon, France. (Photo by Xavier Laine/Getty Images)

LYON, FRANCE - OCTOBER 4: Houssem Aouar of Olympique Lyon reacts during the Ligue 1 match between Olympique Lyon and Olympique Marseille at Groupama Stadium on October 4, 2020 in Lyon, France. (Photo by Xavier Laine/Getty Images)

Arsenal News

Arsenal transfer stance on Houssem Aouar revealed

by Ross Kennerley
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Houssem Aouar, Arsenal

Arsenal transfer stance on Houssem Aouar revealed as Mikel Arteta plots move for Lyon midfielder in the summer transfer window. (Photo by Xavier Laine/Getty Images)

Houssem Aouar. It wouldn’t be an Arsenal transfer window without some mention of the French midfielder. From being the number one target for the entirety of the previous summer window and even mentioned in January, there was surprising calmness on that front up until now.

Mikel Arteta adores what he offers on a football pitch and the heavy coverage of his adoration for the midfielder meant the lack of activity this time around was puzzling. Arsenal desperately have to solve their creativity issues and a player of his dexterity and guile would go some way towards solving that.

The uncertainties over how much money Arteta has to splash this season means we’re in the dark over what outlay to expect for that position. James Maddison’s name has been mentioned but would cost no less than £60m+, although the expected £50m purchase of Ben White suggests money won’t be the primary issue.

How to solve that issue comes in various forms. White will add a new dimension to how Arsenal build from the back, and the shape of the team depending on certain personnel will also have an impact.

Arsenal transfer stance on Houssem Aouar revealed as Mikel Arteta plots move for Lyon midfielder in the summer transfer window

Which is where Aouar comes in.

There had been fleeting mentions of interest from some not-so reputable sources, but now the case for the 23-year-old is gathering momentum. ESPN‘s senior writer James Olley states that Arsenal are set to revive their interest in Aouar but will make a formal offer only when players depart.

It’s a strange scenario that midfielders will need to be offloaded first, especially since Lyon’s asking price is said to be a meagre €25m. Beneficial to Arsenal is the player’s openness to play in the Premier League and the lack of European football, which was a concern last time around, isn’t thought to be a significant stumbling block.

Aouar’s valuation has dropped considerably from last year when the Ligue 1 side were demanding £55m with the Gunners going no higher than £35m.

With pre-season already underway, targets need bringing in sooner rather than later. Granted, space in the squad and funds will be freed up with the sales of Granit Xhaka and Lucas Torreira to aid this pursuit, but there is no position where the pair will be staying anyway, so why wait?

Those claims are backed up by Dahbia Hattabi, a Lyon-based journalist, stating that sales will come first but contact is being maintained by Arsenal with the Frenchman’s camp.

Rekindling this interest shouldn’t come as a major surprise and the only unusual aspect is that it’s taken this long for news to come about. Edu will have been on the phone to Aouar’s agent and Lyon throughout the summer to see what the likelihood was this time around and given the cut-price fee a bid of some sorts is surely around the corner.

Unless Arteta has changed his mind?

Continued…

Next: Does Arteta still want Aouar?

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