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Houssem Aouar has agreed to join Arsenal – but only because there are no viable alternatives.
The 22-year old Frenchman would prefer to join Manchester City, Juventus or Barcelona, but with none of these clubs prepared to make an offer to sign him in the current window, he has opted for the Gunners.
There is still a long way to go before any deal can be done though. Arsenal have made an initial offer of £32 million for the playmaker, but Lyon are holding out for £54 million.
Their President Jean-Michel Aulas has doubted if Arsenal have the required finds to buy him, and that he would prefer that Aouar remains with the French side.
Aulas, though, is renowned as a tough negotiator, and this may be a tactic to drive up the price for the midfielder.
When asked about transfers during Friday’s press conference, Mikel Arteta was tight-lipped on the subject, saying that the club remains active in the market.
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.