Monaco are adamant that Thomas Lemar will not be sold, no matter what Arsenal bid.

Arsenal have been chasing Lemar all summer, but have found Monaco to be surprisingly obstinate.

Unlike their willingness to sell everyone else on their team, The Telegraph reports that Lemar is going nowhere no matter what Arsenal bid.

This isn’t news, of course, because it’s a stance they’ve had for a while. Depending on who you read, they either don’t want to sell Lemar at all, or will only sell if they receive an over-the-top offer close to £80m.

Lemar is a valuable player for Monaco and one that isn’t so easily replaced as a full-back or central midfielder may be.

Hence, their extreme reluctance to sell does make sense despite how willing they’ve been to sell other players.

Arsenal cannot be accused of dallying here, either, as they made their interest known early. The only thing Arsenal can be blamed for is not opening the bidding at £50m.

The situation might change as we get closer to the end of the window, but right now it’s looking like a lost cause.