Arsenal: Thomas Lemar and the balance between patience and practicalities

Thomas Lemar reportedly wants a move to Arsenal and may be willing to force through an exit. To land him, Arsene Wenger will have to bide his time, but at what point should patience make way for practical thinking?

Given the increasing powers that players boast in the modern football world, when they want something, it is a rare occurrence that, eventually, they do not get it. They may have to compromise a little. They may have to wait a little. But as Arsenal have discovered on numerous occasions, they will get what they want.

The power stems from simple supply and demand. If a player is talented and productive, then they are in extreme demand. That is because the supply of such players is extremely limited. Football, especially professional football, is a very difficult game to master, and finding players who can master it is a stretching task.

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Thus far, Arsene Wenger’s pursuit of Thomas Lemar has not been especially successful. Three bids made. Three bids rejected. But thanks to his influence in France, the success that he has enjoyed in acquiring, developing and springboarding young, attacking, French talent throughout his Arsenal tenure, Wenger is a man who garners attention and produces interest. Players want to work for him. And Lemar is no different.

Per L’Equipe, while Monaco continue to spurn Arsenal’s advances, Lemar’s head has been turned and the 21-year-old wants to complete the North London switch and may be willing to engineer his way there. That news plays right into Wenger’s hands. Monaco will not want a restless, unhappy player in their squad. They will also want a return on any sale made and if he continues to make life difficult, the earlier they sell, the more they will receive. Wenger simply has to show patience.

But patience and practical thinking can often counter one another. While Monaco may be wanting to sell, Wenger is equally desperate to buy and has been sounding out alternative options, such is his desire to ensure that he bolsters his attacking forces.

At what point does patience in waiting become unpractical? At what point should realism and compromise be the driving force of the decision, not hopefulness and optimism? By August’s end, Wenger wants an improvement in the attacking positions, ideally out wide. How long does he wait for the perfect player while spurning the good players?

Options like Riyad Mahrez, Ross Barkley and even Ousmane Dembele could be possibilities if explored. Lemar may be the more advantageous signing but any of those would be better than no signing at all, right?

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Wenger clearly wants to make improvements to the attacking areas of the squad. Lemar was the player he identified as the priority. While patience may yet land him, there is a balance that must be found. It is a difficult one to find and only time will tell if Wenger will find it or not.

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