Arsenal reportedly rejected the chance to sign former target, Thomas Lemar, who Atletico Madrid have been trying to sell for a few windows.

Atletico Madrid's French midfielder Thomas Lemar gestures during the Spanish League football match between Club Atletico de Madrid and Deportivo Alaves at the Wanda Metropolitano stadium in Madrid on April 2, 2022. (Photo by JAVIER SORIANO / AFP) (Photo by JAVIER SORIANO/AFP via Getty Images)
Atletico Madrid’s French midfielder Thomas Lemar gestures during the Spanish League football match between Club Atletico de Madrid and Deportivo Alaves at the Wanda Metropolitano stadium in Madrid on April 2, 2022. (Photo by JAVIER SORIANO / AFP) (Photo by JAVIER SORIANO/AFP via Getty Images)

Arsenal were heavily linked with moves for Thomas Lemar through a number of transfer windows, although, until now, his name has not been linked with Arsenal this summer.

That’s because they aren’t interested in signing him and haven’t been since Mikel Arteta arrived, beyond briefly considering him for a short-term loan when the Spaniard first returned to the club.

Now at Atletico Madrid after they paid £64.8m to Monaco to sign him in 2018, Arsenal had been linked with a move for as much as €100m before that deal went through.

Currently valued at around £36m after a season that saw him score just four goals, with five assists, Atletico Madrid wanted to recoup some of the cash they splashed.

Unable to do that, they are apparently close to agreeing a new deal with the attacking midfielder that would see him reduce his wages substantially.

A report in L’Equipe claims that Arsenal were offered the chance to buy Lemar, but they do not state when, exactly, this happened, beyond it being after he became an Atletico Madrid player.

In total, for their £64.8m, Lemar has scored nine goals, with 17 assists, in 142 appearances.

Arsenal, instead, spent £72m the following year on Nicolas Pepe and have been ‘rewarded’ with 27 goals and 21 assists in 112 appearances.