Arsenal may have been dealt a blow in their pursuit of Nice’s Jean-Michael Seri with the Ligue 1 side having progressed in the Champions League qualifiers.

Seri has emerged as Arsenal’s main midfield target this summer but is currently involved in Nice’s attempts to qualify for this season’s Champions League group stages.

The Ivorian played a key part in Nice’s triumph over Ajax in the third qualifying round of the competition. The French outfit will now be involved in Friday’s draw for the Champions League playoffs.

According to Football London, this could be bad news for Arsenal, as the closer Nice get to the group stages, the more likely it’ll be that the Gunners have to pay Seri’s full £33m release clause.

They say that Arsenal hoped of buying the midfielder at a lower price had Nice been eliminated from the Champions League.

This could well be making a mountain out of a molehill, however, as previous reports indicated that Nice weren’t interested in selling Seri for any less than his release clause anyway. Arsenal should already be prepared to pay a big fee for him.

One complication that could arise is Nice delaying a deal until after the Champions League playoffs are completed. That would make this a late transfer, well after the season has already begun.