Thomas Lemar, Julian Draxler and Riyad Mahrez are the three leading candidates to improve Arsenal’s attack, but who would be the best choice?

When it comes to replacing Alexis Sanchez, three names have come up the most often.

Monaco’s Thomas Lemar was the supposed chosen one in the summer. Arsenal chased him all transfer window, only to fail to sign him on the final day of the window.

His form during Monaco’s title winning season made him a popular choice.

Unlike Alexis, who plays more like a forward than anything, Lemar is closer to a midfielder. He plays in a deeper left-sided role for Monaco, and often comes inside to get on the ball. His threat comes from his vision and excellent crossing ability, which extends to his set-pieces, more than his dribbling.

In this sense, he’s closer to Mesut Ozil than he is to Alexis.

As an attacker, the one thing that is lacking from his game is goals. Lemar scored a more-than-decent 14 in all competitions last season, but has just two this campaign.

This may have to do with the significant changes the Monaco side underwent during the summer, and the fact that, at 22, Lemar is still a young player and developing his game.

Goals and consistency will come.

Paris St. Germain’s Julian Draxler is a familiar name for how long he’s been linked with Arsenal. He was linked as a young player at Schalke, and his name has come up in just about every window since.

There were doubts about his attitude while at Wolfsburg, but a move to PSG has seen him find consistency. The German has kept hold of his place in a star-studded eleven, and recently captained Germany to the Confederations Cup.

As a left winger, Draxler’s biggest strength is his ability to take players on.

He’s capable of going inside and outside. One of his favoured moves is driving to the byline for a cut-back. Whereas Lemar offers a more long-range threat with his crossing and passing, Draxler excels with shorter passes and interplay. He started out as a number ten for Schalke and has recently featured in central midfield for Unai Emery’s side.

Much like Lemar, however, goal getting is not his forte.

13 goals for Schalke during the 2012/13 season remains his highest tally for a single season. While it’s a side of his game he could develop, Arsenal would find more use in his dribbling and creativity.

It also helps that Draxler is accustomed to playing for sides who favour short passing and possession.

That bring us onto Leciester’s Riyad Mahrez.

The Algerian had one outstanding goalscoring season during Leicester’s title winning campaign, where he scored 17 times. Mahrez most resembles Alexis in how he relies a lot on unpredictable skills and improvisation, and often relishes the one-on-one situations Leicester’s counter attacks afford him.

It’s uncertain how he’d perform with Arsenal’s more patient approach and with more defenders to deal with.

On one hand, his individualistic style would compliment the more selfless Arsenal attack well, in the same way that Alexis’ style did.

On the other, his style is about risk, which can lead to a high number of turnovers. As we’ve seen with Alexis, turnovers are dangerous in a side that commits so many players to the attack.

Of the three, Mahrez would be the cheapest and most available option.

He’s made no secret of his desire to leave Leicester, who aren’t challenging at the top or in Europe.

Monaco did eventually accept a huge bid for Lemar from Arsenal in the summer, but that price may have only increased since then.

Draxler’s availability is unknown. He could be available if he had no role in the PSG team, but he’s playing regularly at the moment.

In the end, while Draxler and Lemar would be excellent long-term investments for the club, Mahrez’s availability and style of play could serve Arsenal better in the short-term.