Riyad Mahrez was a revelation in the 2015-16 season when he helped drive Leicester City to the Premier League title and won the PFA Player of the year award becoming the first African player to win the award.

Mahrez was a total revelation after signing for then manager Leicester Claudio Ranieri from Le Havre and went on to score 17 goals while adding 11 assists, in his 33 league appearances where he formed an explosive partnership with Jamie Vardy.

In the summer of 2016 that partnership led to Arsenal trying to sign Jamie Vardy from the Foxes only for the England striker to turn down a move to the Emirates.

This summer it seems as though Arsenal are ready to try to sign Mahrez after the Algerian international handed in a transfer request at the end of the season. Mahrez had apparently agreed with the Leicester board to stay on for the 2016-17 season after the title win but now is keen to leave but is frustrated as he feels Leicester are blocking his departure by insisting on an astonomical fee for him as the Express are reporting.

Reports indicate that Craig Shakespeare and the Leicester board are holding out for £50 million for the right winger’s services but this price is apparently too rich for Arsenal even with their significant transfer budget for a squad overhaul.

Shakespeare had this to say about a potential deal for Mahrez:

“We haven’t had any bids and if we don’t have one, we’ve got no decision to make…”

Arsenal are reportedly targeting Thomas Lemar first with Mahrez a back-up plan but the Gunners are not keen on the price for the Algerian and would prefer to sign the 21 year old Frenchman from Monaco rather than the 26 year old Mahrez.

Whether Monaco are willing to sell yet another of their players remains to be seen so Arsenal may end having to do business with the Foxes if they want to improve their options on the right side.

If Alexis Sanchez does leave you would think the Gunners will have to sign another forward and are seemingly keen to get a deal done sooner rather than later as they have traditionally left their signings to late in the window but that has not been the case this summer. With the early additions of Alexandre Lacazette from Lyon and the apparent deal for Schalke’s left-back Sead Kolasinac plus serious interest in Kylian Mbappe Arsenal have shown they mean business so it seems like a matter of time before another big signing is confirmed. Exciting times at the Emirates.