Arsenal are reportedly looking to offload up to eight fringe players this summer as they plot a big-money offer for Monaco ace Thomas Lemar.
It’s likely that the Gunners will struggle to prise the 21-year-old winger away from the Ligue 1 champions given that they’re already seeing their title-winning squad ripped apart.
However, as per The Daily Mail, Arsenal could be set to make an improved offer on their last £40m bid in order to test Monaco’s resolve as Arsene Wenger seems keen to sign Lemar this summer.
It’s added in the report that a move appeals to the French international, but it could take a package with add-ons amounting to a staggering £80m to get the job done, which would see Arsenal break their transfer record for the second time this summer.
Having just spent £52m on Alexandre Lacazette, Wenger will need to balance his spending with sales this summer, and according to the Mail, there are up to eight players in the firing line ready to be sold if the right offers come in.
Kieran Gibbs and Carl Jenkinson are attracting interest from Newcastle, while Calum Chambers is being linked with a switch to Crystal Palace. Mathieu Debuchy is set to leave, as are Wojciech Szczesny, Lucas Perez, while Jack Wilshere and Olivier Giroud also face uncertain futures still.
That’s a lot of players to ship out in one window and so it remains to be seen if Arsenal can do so for the right prices as well as not sacrifice too much depth for their top target, although there’s no denying that a quartet of Lemar, Lacazette, Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil would be a real threat to their rivals.
There are of course still question marks over the last two, as well as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain given that they all have just 12 months remaining on their contracts, but it looks as though there is plenty more business to do this summer for Arsenal.