Arsenal have reportedly contacted Barcelona for Ousmane Dembele and are willing to pay €90m plus €10m in add-ons in a story that is hard to believe.

France's forward Ousmane Dembele arrives in Clairefontaine-en-Yvelines on November 12, 2018, as part of the team's preparation for the upcoming Nations League football match against the Netherlands and a friendly football match against Uruguay. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP)
France’s forward Ousmane Dembele arrives in Clairefontaine-en-Yvelines on November 12, 2018, as part of the team’s preparation for the upcoming Nations League football match against the Netherlands and a friendly football match against Uruguay. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP)

One of the main reasons Arsenal are said to be getting rid of Aaron Ramsey is because they have no money and need to cut their wage bill. That’s the official line that has been leaked to the press anyway. Perhaps it’s just a kinder way of saying Unai Emery doesn’t rate Ramsey, although that wouldn’t explain why he made him one of his five captains.

My point is you don’t get to have it both ways. You can’t, on the one hand, say Arsenal are too broke to give Ramsey a new contract but can find €100m to spend on Dembele.

Arsenal and Dembele have been linked long enough now to think there was some genuine interest at some point but this story seems to be mainly being pushed by Don Balon who, at least, have moved on from their Karim-Benzema-to-Arsenal obsession.

Barcelona want €100m for Dembele, willing to take a €50m hit on a player they spent far too much on in the summer of 2017 according to the report.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0LZsFlS8UI

Other clubs who are interested, including Liverpool, PSG and Atletico, are only willing to go to €80m for the 21-year-old but free-spending Arsenal will apparently outbid them all.

Although Arsenal have spent a fair bit of stupid money lately, not to mention their insane Kylian Mbappe bid before he moved to PSG, I’d be absolutely amazed if Arsenal spend anything close to €100m on a number of players in the next window, let alone on one.