Arsenal: Thomas Lemar has never been a better idea

Arsenal will be on the lookout for anyone that can potentially in for Alexis Sanchez or Mesut Ozil and Thomas Lemar has never been a better idea.

Arsenal’s strong run of success is still marred by the incoming dread that by the end of December, we should know what is happening with Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil. This, according to Arsene Wenger, who I hope has an actual plan already in place, and not just a “oh, they’re leaving, let’s wing it.”

We talk all the time here at Pain in the Arsenal about the various options that are available, cheap and expensive, near and far. Nothing is going to be easy, because of the simple fact that the January window is rarely a treasure trove of available talent.

Take, for instance, the entire recent history of Arsenal in the January window. There is no great point of reference where we can point and say “yeah, that was a huge signing we made in January.”

This January is shaping up to be no different. People talk about Leon Goretzka, but he isn’t going to leave in January. No chance. People talk about Nabil Fekir, but he is Lyon’s best player and they are going to be engaged in staying in the Champions League place they are currently in.

There aren’t many options. Plain and simple. But Thomas Lemar is popping back up on the radar and that is actually one of the more believable rumors of the bunch. Of course, he has the same drawback as Fekir, he will be engaged in helping Monaco stay in a Champions League spot.

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But unlike Fekir, who will be helping Lyon in their Europa League campaign, Lemar will be doing no such thing. Lemar and Monaco were unceremoniously bounced in the group stages, finishing dead last in the group. So that removes one major obstacle from the Lemar transfer saga, and it’s probably the biggest one.

Not just that, but Lemar is in a rut, not to mention he has been injured. Monaco are still ranking in at third in the Ligue 1 table, even in spite of Lemar’s absence (granted, they have sputtered a bit lately).

There has never been a better time to go all in on Lemar. There may start to be some blossoming questions about whether or not he is everything he is cracked up to be (spoiler alert – he is. Alexandre Lacazette went through a similar sophomore slump). £90m isn’t going to happen, because that price is still crazy talk.

But going in for below that amount, maybe in the Lacazette range, may be enough to entice Monaco into cashing in on him lest they risk his form continuing to drop off.

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It’s still a long shot. It always was. But there is actually a good deal to be optimistic about. Arsenal was so close to selling Alexis and landing Lemar in the summer, re-engaging in the same principled move here would just be a continuation of where we left off. Seems simple enough.

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