Arsenal have reportedly seen three pursuits of key attacking additions fall flat, with Thomas Lemar seemingly now going nowhere.
Ligue 1 champions Monaco have seen their title-winning squad ripped apart this summer, with Kylian Mbappe expected to be the latest to leave.
In turn, they’ll be desperate to keep hold of everyone else for at least another season, with the likes of Bernardo Silva, Tiemoue Bakayoko and Benjamin Mendy all already moving on.
According to The Independent, it’s bad news for the Gunners, as Monaco vice-president Vadim Vasilyev has insisted that Lemar is an ‘essential player’ and will not be leaving the club this summer.
“We have kept all of the key players that we intended to keep. I will address speculation relating to the case of (Thomas) Lemar. He is staying with us. He is an immense talent and is essential for the team.”
That’s arguably the biggest blow as it had seemed Arsene Wenger was keen to add Lemar to his signing of Alexandre Lacazette to add real quality to the side and so it remains to be seen if the situation changes between now and the end of the transfer window.
Meanwhile, The Mirror report that Arsenal are also set to miss out on Arda Turan as the Barcelona ace is expected to join Galatasaray on loan after speculation linking him with a move to north London.
It’s claimed that the experienced Turkish winger will earn £70,000-a-week back in his homeland, and so it looks likely that Arsenal will have to start looking elsewhere.
Perhaps most shockingly of all though, it’s been claimed by Don Balon that Arsenal sensationally made an approach for Real Madrid superstar Gareth Bale amid hopes that the Welshman wanted to return to the Premier League especially with Mbappe reportedly on the way to the Bernabeu.
However, it’s more disappointment for Arsenal as it’s added in the report that Bale rejected the move which leaves Wenger and the Gunners empty-handed for now.