Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Arsenal tried desperately to add further names to their list of summer additions, having landed Sead Kolasinac and Alexandre Lacazette, but failed to get deals over the line.
Monaco ace Thomas Lemar was a prime target for the Gunners, who saw a £92m approach fail to go ahead on Deadline Day, and Monaco have since spoken out about the wealth of interest in their 21-year-old French international.
The Ligue 1 champions saw their title-winning side disassembled by Europe’s elite over the course of the summer, as Bernardo Silva, Benjamin Mendy and Tiemoue Bakayoko all left for the Premier League whilst Kylian Mbappe joined Paris Saint-Germain.
Despite the wealth of absentees, Monaco have insisted they’re not in a position where they need to sell and are adamant they can hold onto Lemar in the future, despite it being made clear that Arsenal still hold an interest and aim to return for his services further down the line.
Speaking to L’Equipe, vice-president Vadim Vasilyev said:
“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. 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.”
Monaco have endured a varied start to the new season having won their opening four matches, including a 6-1 drubbing of Marseille, but lost 4-0 to OGC Nice this weekend.
