Arsenal: Thomas Lemar doing Gunners subtle, yet massive favor

Arsenal’s near-purchase of Thomas Lemar makes him a key figure in future dealings. Even his drop in form is favoring the Gunners

Arsenal nearly sent their supporters into a catatonic shock when, one transfer deadline day, they were on the brink of selling Alexis Sanchez and purchasing Thomas Lemar. The Frenchman would have cost the Gunners £90m, shattering every transfer record that Arsene Wenger hated to have set in the first place.

Missing out on him left many to believe that he would be the first name acquired the following summer. But now many are asking questions, as the Frenchman has only managed two goals and four assists in well over 1000 minutes of play.

Nabil Fekir and Julian Draxler both have more in Ligue 1, despite Monaco being sandwiched between their two respective teams. Even Malcom, at lowly Bordeaux, has a healthy stable of goals to brag about.

Lemar’s stock, therefore, may be on a bit of a decline. Which is why he has fallen off the transfer radar and has been subsequently replaced by the three names mentioned in the previous paragraph.

But this is not bad news for Arsenal. If anything, it could work out in their favor.

Alexandre Lacazette had a similar sophomore slump that was quickly fixed up. The fact that Lemar is having a hard go in his second year is perfectly natural and it would be shocking if he didn’t already start looking like turning it around in the second half of the year. He has had two superb outings in a row already in his two most recent fixtures.

More from Pain in the Arsenal

If anything, this could help the Gunners thin out the competing transfer field a bit. Liverpool and Barcelona used to be linked with the Frenchman, but Barcelona have since tailed off, leaving a Premier League duel that favors the Gunners in their manager, their opportunity and their fellow Frenchman.

What this all hinges on is Arsenal securing a Champions League place and then the price that follows. Lemar should absolutely not still fetch the ridiculous figure they were looking at last summer. If anything, that fee should be slashed nearly in half. The key is making him as financially sensible as Fekir, who has the numbers to back up his likely price tag.

Next: 5 Things Learned Against Chelsea

Monaco can’t possibly expect the same return from a guy that has, as of yet, not built upon a fantastic first campaign. Which, as mentioned several times now, helps the Gunners more than it hurts. We know Lemar will be fine, he is top quality and he is young. this is just a blip in his development that might end up doing him more good than harm.

Home/Arsenal Transfer Rumours