Arsenal: Culprit behind Thomas Lemar transfer fiasco finally identified

Arsenal were so close to landing Thomas Lemar over the summer, but reports haven’t been able to pinpoint whose fault it was. Until now.

Thomas Lemar was supposed to be that third and final signing that solidified Arsenal and made them impervious to whoever was leaving the club. The Gunners sounded like they were hot on his tail all summer long, but in the end, it came down to deadline day and a massive, triple digit deal that would see him come to the Emirates and Alexis Sanchez shipped off the Manchester City.

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But it fell through at the dearth and everyone exhaled in frustration. What seemed like such a positive solution failed because of unseen forces.

Some said that Lemar preferred Liverpool. Some said that Monaco decided they didn’t want to sell. Some said that Lemar just didn’t want to leave and still others said that Lemar wanted Champions League football.

No one had a definite answer and even when people did start to talk, there was no clear-cut culprit behind why this deal didn’t happen.

Until now.

Monaco’s vice-president Vadim Vasilyev has opened the lid on the deal, telling the Telegraph that the deal was actually never accepted. He went on to say:

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"These offers came late, very late, in the market so once you cannot replace a player they (the offers) become even more difficult to accept. We plan and when it’s the last days it’s very difficult."

He went on:

"It was too late to make all the components work – to find a replacement; reach an agreement. It was just too late."

Pretty easy to then point the finger at who is to blame for not securing this move. It is Arsene Wenger, Mr. “I don’t want a sporting director.” Had he ponied up this kind of money earlier in the transfer window, a major problem facing the club could have been avoided.

Wenger always says that money isn’t the problem, and he proved that with this massive bid that Vasilyev even acknowledged was “around” €100m. But he also proved that money is an issue because he was low-balling Monaco all summer with bids a fraction of that final bid.

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The good news is that Vasilyev expects Lemar to leave in the summer. And that puts Arsenal in a position where no bullsh!t will be allowed, because everybody knows what Wenger was willing to spend before. So if the deal can’t be done this time, then there is something seriously wrong.