Arsenal: Thomas Lemar admission means very little

Arsene Wenger admitted that Arsenal did make a £92 million bid for Thomas Lemar and that, while it was rejected, he would pursue the Monaco winger again. Such an admission, though, actually means very little.

Arsenal, in a remarkably unambitious fashion, actually made a profit this past summer. Thanks to the late sales of Kieran Gibbs and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, offset by the only payout of club-record addition Alexandre Lacazette, the club amassed approximately £27 million profit. For an apparently title-chasing organisation, that is criminal.

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The reason that they made a profit, ultimately, was because of a scuppered move for Thomas Lemar. With Alexis Sanchez nearing a Manchester City exit, Arsene Wenger scrambled to find a suitable replacement, highlighting Lemar as his eventual target.

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A £92 million bid was made for his services, and accepted, but within 30 minutes of the news breaking, it was then revealed that the deal was off and Sanchez’s subsequent Manchester switch also not going ahead. There were some doubts over whether the deal was ever real, with perhaps the savvy PR department of the Gunners again working their magic to try and inspire a little positivity in a fan base despairing with the current situation of the club.

But in an interview with French TV, Wenger not only confirmed the existence of the bid, and the consequent rejection with Lemar choosing to stay at Monaco, but announced that he would be making another move for him in the future:

"“€100m for Lemar? Yes all true, I wanted him. He decided to stay at Monaco. We will come back for him.”"

Unfortunately, as we all know too well as Arsenal fans, words and deeds are two very different things, and while it is promising to see Wenger be so open about transfers — he is usually extremely private about his transfer business, so seeing him be so honest and forward does perhaps suggest that another move will indeed be made –, I have to take the ‘believe it when I see it’ stance.

History dictates that. It was only this summer that Ivan Gazidis, Wenger and even Stan Kroenke proclaimed their title ambitions, insisting that they were in a position to challenge on both a domestic and international front, again naming Bayern Munich as a club with which they are wanting to compete with in the future. And it so transpired that a profit was made. The two, in the modern footballing world of ever-increasing prices and intensifying competition, do not go hand in hand.

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Unfortunately, although the idea of Arsenal making another approach for Lemar is an enticing and exciting one, it is not something that I can believe simply because Wenger says it will happen. He has made such promises in the past, promises that have not been satisfied. Only when it happens, will I believe it.