Monaco winger Thomas Lemar may have moved to Arsenal or Liverpool if former teammate Kylian Mbappé had moved to Manchester City, according to reports in Spain.

Spanish outlet Don Balon report that Lemar and Mbappé promised each other that if they didn’t remain in the same team, they would at least remain in the same league. Thus, if Mbappé moved to Real Madrid, Lemar would go to Barcelona, if Mbappé went to City, Lemar might have accepted Arsenal’s offer.

In the end, Mbappé got his move to Paris Saint-Germain, and therefore Lemar didn’t have to go anywhere to keep his end of the deal. There’s nothing particularly substantial to support this rumour, and it seems to me the Spanish media are known for doing whatever they can to find excuses when Barcelona and Real Madrid don’t land their targets.

If Lemar joining the Gunners depended on Mbappé joining Manchester City, I’m not sure many Arsenal fans would have supported that series of events anyway. As promising as Lemar is, watching Mbappé go to a Premier League rival, would be painful to say the least.

Mbappé staying in France and Lemar remaining available for the next transfer window is a much better turn of events for the Gunners.