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Arsenal are ready to make a fresh attempt to sign Lyon playmaker Houssem Aouar.
The Gunners have already had a £31.2 million bid for the midfielder turned down, but now they are prepared to increase the size of their offer for the 22-year-old.
Lyons though are renowned as tough negotiators, and have insisted that they will not sell him for less than £54.5 million, and are not interested in any player swap deals, having turned down the chance for Matteo Guendouzi to be included as a makeweight.
To raise the funds, Arsenal will need to sell players, with Emiliano Martinez, Lucas Torreira and Héctor Bellerín all linked with a move away from the Emirates.
Rob Holding though will be staying at the club. His proposed loan move to Newcastle is off, as he is needed as cover for David Luiz, who may miss the first six weeks of the new season with a neck injury.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.