Houssem Aouar has agreed to join Arsenal this summer and the Gunners have tabled a formal £32m offer to Lyon for the midfielder, according to reports.
Mikel Arteta is looking to revamp his midfield before the transfer window closes on October 5th and Aouar has reportedly been identified as one of Arsenal’s prime targets along with Atletico Madrid star Thomas Partey.
Lyon director Juninho has previous confirmed talks have been held with Arsenal counterpart Edu about a potential move for Aouar but the Ligue 1 outfit weren’t interested in taking Matteo Guendouzi as part of any deal.
It looks like the 22-year-old is keen for a move to the Emirates Stadium as French outlet Telefoot La Chaine claims that Aouar has agreed to join Arsenal. This comes after Italian journalist Nicolo Schira claimed recently that terms over a five-year contract had been agreed between the two parties.
The focus for Arsenal is to settle on a fee with Lyon and it looks like the north Londoners have now formalised their interest as ESPN claims the Gunners have submitted a formal offer worth £32m [€35m].
However, while the report says Lyon have lowered their initial £55m asking price the French outfit are still wanting around £36m-£41m so Arsenal may have to dig a little deeper if they want to get a deal done.
Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas has already confirmed Arsenal’s offer doesn’t meet their demands but ESPN suggests the Gunners will go back in with an improved bid as they look to wrap-up a deal over the coming days.
The report also says Aouar is keen to join Arsenal in order to link-up with former team-mate Alexandre Lacazette at the Emirates but Arteta may need to offload some current players to help raise extra funds.
Lucas Torreira is expected to leave amid interest from Atletico Madrid and Torino while Guendouzi, Shkodran Mustafi, Sead Kolasinac and Sokratis are all also available for transfer this summer.
We’ll have to wait and see how things develop but Aouar would be a superb addition to Arsenal’s squad as he’s become one of the most exciting young talents in French football in recent years.
The French U21 international played a key role in Lyon reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League last season having contributed 9 goals and 10 assists in all competitions last season so he’d add some much-needed creativity to Arteta’s midfield.
