Arsene Wenger has been targeting Monaco winger Thomas Lemar all summer. The Gunner’s have been bracing themselves to lose Alexis Sanchez, and see the Frenchman as an ideal replacement. The saga has dragged on and continues to take various twists and turns from Monaco not wanting to sell, to demanding more money, to Manchester United getting involved, to Arsenal ending their interest. However, it does seem that Arsenal will continue to pursue their man and try until the window slams shut to complete a deal.

French outlet Le 10 Sport reports that Monaco could allow Lemar to leave the club in the final days of the transfer window, and there has been reports that the Ligue 1 champions want Anthony Martial back from Manchester United.

Lemar has made his name in the game as one of Europe’s hottest prospects after a super season last term where he scored 14 goals and gave 17 assists in 55 appearances.

Wenger has previously admitted his desire to sign the young winger, saying that he is of interest to Arsenal.

The Arsenal boss said: “He’s a player that we have looked at, but the rest is only speculation.”

Monaco have already sold a host of players this summer including Tiemoue Bakayoko, Bernardo Silva and Benjamin Mendy, and it looks like the summer sales won’t stop there as Kylian Mbappe, Fabinho and Thomas Lemar himself look set to leave.

Vice-president Vadim Vasilyev did insist last month that no more players would be allowed to leave. “We have kept all of the key players that we intended to keep. And I will address speculation relating to Lemar – he is staying with us. He is an immense talent and is essential for the team.” he said.

But with Le 10 Sport claims of Monaco being prepared to sell at the right prices, plus increasing speculation of Mbappe’s move to PSG – perhaps the sale of Lemar is closer than we think.