Arsenal: Thomas Lemar like ready-made Jeff Reine-Adelaide

Arsenal’s interest in Thomas Lemar shouldn’t be a surprise, especially when you look at the faith they have in Jeff Reine-Adelaide. The end goal is the same.

It’s fun to develop players and see them grow into world beaters. That was part of what made Robin van Persie so satisfying. He wasn’t a big signing. Anything but. He cost just £1.75m and sold for £25m, which in today’s market would have been like… £60m. And Arsenal has always placed a priority on development over purchase.

Jeff Reine-Adelaide is one such case of players that we are all incredibly excited for, a player that can really make the grade and prove to be well worth the minimal investment.

That said, in the mean time while we wait for Reine-Adelaide to pan out on the senior level, why not go ahead and snag a player that is essentially what a ‘made-the-grade’ Jeff Reine-Adelaide is going to look like? Because that player is Thomas Lemar.

When you compare the skillsets of the two, there should be some pretty obvious similarities. Both play wide positions without possessing overbearing speed. Both are creative minded players that aren’t afraid to smack home just as many goals as they do assists. Both have a slick on the ball presence that exudes control and technical ability.

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The fact that both are French doesn’t even have to be included.

It’s clear then, why Wenger would be so interested in landing Lemar, to the point of spending far more than you really should on procuring his services. This is the kind of player he has been trying to get his hands on for awhile now. He was willing to invest time into the development of one and now he is equally willing to jump the gun and just get a ready-made version.

Clearly Wenger sees something in this type that he has to have with his club, which should have us all pretty excited. It’s not often that Wenger goes this hard after one specific player and doesn’t back down. Last time it happened was Krystian Bielik, I believe, which is why I continuously psyche myself out over this lad. But that was small money. Lemar is big money.

Next: 3 Reasons Thomas Lemar Transfer Has To Happen

It’s still up in the air, the future of Lemar, as Monaco look set to hold their ground and Arsenal look set to not risk missing out on him. All we can do is wait for a resolution, which will hopefully come much sooner than September 2nd.

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