Arsenal: Thomas Lemar a rare excuse to exercise patience

Arsenal may be fighting impossible odds to land Thomas Lemar, but that’s okay. There is no ticking clock on something like this. Time for patience.

I don’t think I could have ever imagined how irritated I would be when Alex Iwobi told fans that they just needed to be ‘patient’ with regards to winning titles. With the transition that Arsenal has gone through the past decade, it was an ill-advised request to make.

Very few supporters will be open to the idea of patience with anything. Which is good lately, because Arsene Wenger has shown a new dedication to getting it done in the here and now. Both Sead Kolasinac and Alexandre Lacazette were wrapped up in no time. It’s clear that Le Prof is picking up all the missing pieces as he tries to push for the title before his contract runs up again.

I fall in that same boat of thinking that patience is a terrible idea 99.9% of the time with this club. But there has been one big excuse for patience this summer and one more will be joining that first one.

The first was Emil Forsberg. RB Leipzig made it clear that he wasn’t leaving and the Swedish creator and European assist king made it clear that this was completely unacceptable. Meaning that, give him a year and he will be much more likely to leave.

Patience.

Thomas Lemar is entering that same playing field. No matter what reports indicate with regards to Arsenal making a breakthrough for the French attacker, Monaco is there to shoot them down rather vehemently.

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The latest statements come from Monaco Vice President Vadim Vasilyev (as quoted by the Independent):

"“We have kept all of the key players that we intended to keep. I will address speculation relating to the case of (Thomas) Lemar. He is staying with us. He is an immense talent and is essential for the team.”"

It’s what they’ve been saying all summer. Only with less and less wiggle room each time. They sound serious about holding onto him. So, if that be the case, Lemar is in a similar situation as Forsberg. It’s pretty clear that he wants to leave, but until he is allowed to, all we can to is have….

Patience.

As I will cover later today, that doesn’t mean going after a second-rate option. Not at a position that isn’t in dire need of help. We can wait this one out. Reassess it next summer depending on what Alexis Sanchez decides to do.

Next: 5 Title-Winning Signings For Arsenal

The team is actually in a really good place, at least on paper, so as long as that is the case, get the players that you want.

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