Every football fan seems to have become a body language expert since Mesut Ozil signed for Arsenal but the Express have actually contacted a real one – and they reckon Arsene Wenger has been telling porkies.

When asked whether there was any truth to reports that Arsenal are interested in returning for Thomas Lemar and making a move for Chelsea’s David Luiz, Wenger insisted that these rumours are ‘wrong’.

However, according to body language expert or ‘human lie detector’, Darren Stanton, claims that Wenger was lying.

“When he’s initially asked the question, there’s a sudden shift in his eyebrows,” Stanton told Express Sport.

https://twitter.com/GoalUK/status/948183168145793024

“He’s angry at being asked the question and being put on the spot and he maintains eye contact with the journalist which is a sign of dominance. 

“When he is asked about Lemar, he moves his eyes down to the left which in body language are called eye-accessing cues, giving a clue as to how he is processing the question. 

“The whole process only lasts a second but he runs whats called internal dialogue. He quickly answers the question to himself, checks that’s a reasonable response then delivers his answer. He also pieces [sic] his lips which is another sign of deception. 

“The time he takes to answer betrays what he really thinks so I believe the opposite is true.

“When he is asked about Luiz, Wenger says yes but shakes his head so there is the possibility he isn’t revealing the whole story.”

Wenger has been known to tell a fib or two, especially regarding transfers. Remember when he claimed not to know Santi Cazorla days before Arsenal signed him?

What’s more, the boss confirmed back in September that the Gunners would return for Lemar in the future.

The 22-year-old was unable to complete a £90m move to north London over the summer. However, presumably Wenger has reason to think that Arsenal would be successful a second time.

Luiz, on the other hand, has reportedly fallen out with Antonio Conte at Chelsea, which appears to be where rumours that he’s signing for Arsenal have stemmed from.

While Wenger isn’t known for being 100% truthful all of the time, particularly when put on the spot, it’s also very rare for him to make big January signings. The last one was Andrey Arshavin in 2009.

Therefore, he might very well be telling the truth on this occasion.

Also, it’s important to note that reading body language, especially that of a stranger, is really difficult and notoriously unreliable.