da brdice：
da bet7： According to Sky Sports journalist Guillem Balague, Arsenal are confident of agreeing a transfer deal to sign Monaco midfielder Thomas Lemar.
What’s the word?
Arsenal’s first-team squad is facing a bit of a ransacking on Deadline Day. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has already signed for Liverpool, while Alexis Sanchez – whose contract expires at the end of the season – is the subject of yet another bid from Manchester City.
However, offering some form of silver lining is Sky Sports’ La Liga correspondent Guillem Balague. He’s not been the most reliable of sources down the years, but believes Manchester City are now close to signing Sanchez and that Arsenal have accordingly asked for a few hours to seal a deal for Monaco attacker Thomas Lemar, who they’ve been linked with for much of the summer.
The perfect Sanchez replacement?
Replacing Sanchez was always going to be an impossible task for Arsenal, especially on Deadline Day. But bearing the Deadline Day chaos in mind, a deal for the France international probably represents a best-case scenario for the Gunners barring a shock, ginormous swoop for someone of the Marco Reus/Gareth Bale ilk.
The attacking midfielder was a key part of the Monaco side that unexpectedly won the Ligue 1 title and reached the Champions League semi-final last season, notching up eleven goals and 14 assists across all competitions in the process. Aged 21, he’s the kind of signing that has the quality to contribute right away at the Emirates Stadium, but will be expected to steadily improve over the next few years – one day hopefully becoming as talismanic as Sanchez or Mesut Ozil.
How likely is the deal?
On Deadline Day, it’s always impossible to tell. As previously mentioned, however, Balague’s claims are usually taken with a pinch of salt. Furthermore, Liverpool are also said to be incredibly interested in the 5-cap international with The Independent even reporting this morning on a £74million transfer pursuit.