Arsenal remain interested in Houssem Aouar, with reports linking the Gunners to the Lyon midfielder over the last two summers.

Calciomercato report that Houssem Aouar will leave Olympique Lyonnais this summer, with clubs in England and Italy tracking him.

From the Premier League, Arsenal are the team credited with an interest, whilst Juventus and Inter Milan are following the midfielder from Serie A.

Aouar probably came closest to joining Arsenal in the 2020 summer window.

Throughout the summer months, the Gunners were strongly linked with Aouar and Thomas Partey, even submitting official bids for Aouar, but they only ended up signing the Ghanaian.

Then, in 2021, Aouar on loan was listed by reliable outlets as one of the primary options for Arsenal should they fail to bring in Martin Odegaard. Once again, the success of the Odegaard deal seemingly put an end to Aouar’s potential move.

In a sense, a move for Aouar in 2022 makes more sense than ever.

He’s had more time to develop his game, but he’s still just 23 years old. He only has a contract until 2023, and his favoured position is as a left-sided advanced central midfielder, with eight goal contributions so far this season.

That left-sided number eight role is where Granit Xhaka currently plays, but Aouar would probably be a more comfortable fit, particularly offensively.

The only question would be whether Aouar is as suited to the defensive side of the task, as he’s generally viewed as more lightweight than someone like Xhaka.

Perhaps that’s a trade-off Arsenal can afford, but that’s a call the hierarchy may have to make themselves.