Arsenal should exploit Leicester City desperation

Leicester City are reportedly dropping their asking price for Riyad Mahrez, from £50 million to the region of £40 million. Arsenal should exploit their desperation to sell an unmotivated and unsettled player.

Having unhappy, unsettled, restless players in your squad is rarely a successful outcome. As Arsenal and Arsene Wenger have discovered in the past, it is often far more advantageous to sell such players, especially if they have value, and replace them with more motivated, driven individuals who are content to work hard for the good of the team.

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Because of the ability that players have in being able to force an exit, potential buyers have the opportunity to drive a hard bargain with the selling club, knowing that, ultimately, a deal must be done, even at a cut price.

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That is the situation that Arsenal find themselves in with Riyad Mahrez. The remarkable story of Leicester City outfoxing the world and winning the Premier League led to many of their players attracting interest from several, more established clubs. N’Golo Kante was signed by Chelsea, the Gunners made an offer for Jamie Vardy and Mahrez was the talk of the town, with even Barcelona rumoured to be pondering the possibility of a move.

However, what eventually came to pass is that all but Kante agreed to stay for one more season and play in the Champions League together. It was a successful European campaign, eventually falling foul to a steely and hardened Atletico Madrid team in the quarter-finals. But now that season is over, the question of their individual futures is again being raised, with Mahrez publicly declaring his desire to secure a move away at the start of the summer.

Since that time, though, there has been little movement from any potential buyers other than usual speculation and conjecture that comes with the time of year. Craig Shakespeare admitted that Roma had a bid rejected, believed to be in the region of £30 million, last week, but there has been little else of note.

That inactivity is beginning to worry Leicester. On Monday, it is being reported that the Foxes are dropping their initial asking price from £50 million to around £40 million, in the hope that they are able to still secure at least a decent return on a player who has publicly declared his intention is to leave.

Their desperation to sell is something that Arsenal should most certainly be taking advantage of. Although Mahrez struggled to replicate his PFA Player of the Year form last season, scoring only 10 goals and recording just five assists in all competitions, in terms of sheer ability, he is a £50 or £60 million player.

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There is a reasonable chance that Arsenal could complete a deal for as little as £35 million. In today’s market, that would represent an absolute steal, one that should be taken advantage. Whether they will or not, though, is another question entirely.