Monaco have said that they were under no pressure to sell forward Thomas Lemar to Arsenal during the summer transfer window.

Arsenal were big admirers of the youngster and lodged a £92m bid for the forward on transfer deadline day. However, they eventually decided to rescind their offer after it became clear that Alexis Sanchez would not be leaving the club.

It is believed that Arsenal will return again for the 21-year-old, but Monaco have since insisted that they are in no rush to allow the player to leave the club – saying that they are financially stable.

Vice-president Vadim Vasilyev told L’Equipe the situation, saying that two years ago they were forced to sell Anthony Martial to Manchester United in order to meet financial fair play regulations.

“In 2015 we had to sell in order to meet FFP conditions, so it was more of an obligation. We are, currently, financially safe and sound.” said Vasilyev.

“You sell when you think it’s the right time. You’ve got to accept the risk and it’s by taking risks that we have got here.”

“Sales, they are the consequence of having a great season, the league title, a great manager and an excellent recruitment cell and scouting network.”

“We don’t want records. We want to maintain a competitive team while respecting our economic model. And today, we’ve managed it.”

“My dream has always been to develop the model, in both an economic and sporting sense, as far as possible. I’d said that a few years ago with Forbes magazine; It see that it is a possibility.”