Italian football journalist Emanuele Giulianelli claims that Thomas Lemar’s move to Arsenal is ‘done’.
Deal done?
Giulianelli claims via Twitter that Arsenal’s move for Monaco winger, Lemar, is complete but the Ligue 1 club are waiting to find his replacement before announcing it.
While this does seem perfectly plausible and Giulianelli isn’t the only journalist reporting that the Gunners are at least in ongoing talks with Monaco over bringing the 21-year-old to north London, Giulianelli himself isn’t the most reliable source when it comes to Arsenal transfer news.
Back in 2015, he reported that Arsenal had signed Karim Benzema on a four-year deal.
The following summer, he claimed that the Gunners had agreed personal terms with Romelu Lukaku.
He did get Shkodran Mustafi’s medical sort of right considering he claimed there was going to be a medical after the 18 August and the Gunners announced signing the defender on 30 August. However, the German’s move to north London had been the talk of the summer so it looked pretty likely. Plus, even a broken clock’s right twice a day, right?
Sky Sports reporter, Dharmesh Sheth, believes that talks are ongoing between Monaco and Arsenal, and that Arsene Wenger is still really keen on signing Lemar.
The France international scored 14 and assisted 17 last season and, if reports are to be believed, could set Arsenal back up to £60m. Not that said reports believe Wenger will pay that much.
The Gunners are said to have had two bids of £30m and £40m rejected this summer, and have now allegedly gone back in with a £45m offer.
Monaco claim Lemar isn’t going anywhere but Sheth believes the Ligue 1 club could be bluffing in order to get more money.
Sky Sports claim Lemar Arsenal talks are ongoing
Arsenal are reportedly still very much in talks to bring Monaco winger, Thomas Lemar, to north London.
Dharmesh Sheth revealed on Sky Sports’ Transfer Centre show that Arsenal are apparently still in talks to sign Lemar from Monaco, despite the Ligue 1 club insisting that the 21-year-old isn’t for sale.
‘Perfect’ Alexis Sanchez replacement scouted
by Nikola Banicek
Thomas Lemar The 21-year-old French winger Thomas Lemar is a reported transfer target for Arsenal and Tottenham, so what’s all the fuss about?
Lemar plays for AS Monaco, and is one of the shining young prospects in the team that won French Ligue 1 this season.
He joined Monaco two years ago from SM Caen for a reported fee of €4 million as a replacement for Anthony Martial.
The young French international made a remarkable 55 appearances for the club across all competitions, contributing to the club’s success with 14 goals and 17 assists.
Style of play
Although he might be one of the shortest players on the field, he’s packed with explosive pace. Combined with his dribbling abilities, this makes him particularly hard to defend against.
When allowed even the slightest space, he will use it well, making straight runs on the opposition’s goal and he often looks for the most direct and efficient way to reach the penalty box.
Strengths
Other than his pace and impressive dribbling skills, Lemar is very good at making key passes and creating chances. He has the ability to hold up the ball and wait for supporting players.
Another great strength of his is taking set-pieces and direct free kicks, and the player is very good at delivering the ball into the right areas.
As he mostly operates just in front of the penalty box, he has developed powerful and precise long shots, and doesn’t hesitate to take a chance when it arises.
Lemar is very versatile, and can be deployed on both flanks, regardless if the role is to hold back as a wide midfielder or push higher up the field as inside-forward cutting inside.
Weakness
Even though he’s only 5’57” and a little over 9st, he’s not easily pushed around and is capable of standing his ground. He should work on his physique a bit more, however.
Other than that, Lemar doesn’t have any significant weaknesses that impact on his natural position as a winger.
The future
The 21-year-old has a contract with Monaco until 2020 and is valued at €20 million by transfermarkt.com but Monaco’s asking price would be at least twice.
Lemar certainly does posses more than enough quality to fill in the void that could be left should Alexis depart and the Gunners would do a marvellous job if they could manage to get him.
He might take some adapting to a more robust game in England but it shouldn’t be a problem for the pacey winger.
Like most of the others in the current Monaco squad, Lemar has plenty of talent and can only get better with more experience and time at a bigger club like Arsenal. Or Tottenham, you know, if he’s stupid.
Lemar: Here to show the world
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwm_nJ8TExc