Arsenal: Thomas Lemar’s future becoming more and more certain

Arsenal were mocked for their inability to land Thomas Lemar at the transfer deadline, but the story surrounding it keeps getting better.

Arsenal took a ton of flak for the Thomas Lemar saga, and rightfully so. Here is a guy they pursued all summer that reportedly wanted to come to the Emirates, but they never forked up the money required to win Monaco over.

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Finally, on the last day of the transfer window, they offered the money required, but this time it was too late. Lemer wasn’t keen on making that move on the last day of the window with the season already under way.

Reports even emerged that he rejected us because he wanted Liverpool, reports that were never wholly confirmed.

I gave Lemar the Pain in the Arsenal stamp of guarantee, which just means that Lemar is going to be a Gunner, because I guaran-damn-tee it. And this guarantee is looking better and better, strangely enough, as the window closed four days ago.

First, it was Wenger admitting that he would come back for Lemar. That was unheard of, for him to be so candid about a transfer and admit that he was going for it.

Now, it gets even better, as Monaco vice president Vadim Vasilyev has admitted (via SkySports) that Lemar did want to come to Arsenal (and Liverpool too) but that it was a communal decision for him to stay.

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Again, likely because the season is already underway and it would be a further shock to the Monaco system.

I didn’t think it would be possible to filch any good news from this tough situation, but here we are, having our hopes boosted over and over again. So much so that I have no doubts that Lemar will end up in an Arsenal kit, most likely next summer.

Because no matter how much people hate on Wenger, he still has tremendous pull, as we saw with Alexandre Lacazette, and when Alexis Sanchez inevitably leaves next summer, Lemar will have the honor of being the man that replaces the best player the Gunners have had in the past decade.

Champions League or no, that is not something that is easy to turn away from. And if the Gunners do swindle a Champions League spot, whether that be through Premier League qualification or winning the Europa League, then there is no questioning. They will have the most pull of any team in England again.

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Yeah, I said it. And I believe it. Of course, getting into the Champions League is part of the journey, and the toughest part, but if they can get there, in Wenger’s last year, I think we will be in some fine fettle.