Thomas Lemar is an exciting winger from France who has impressed upon the domestic and continental stage whilst playing for AS Monaco. Within Monaco's dominating season of 2016/17, Lemar was a prominent player in this side.
Premier League interest
Following a season of world-class performances, this naturally attracted the interests of the worlds elite clubs - with Arsenal having the strongest interest with the player.
With star-player, Alexis Sanchez, threatening to leave the club, the Gunners eventually agreed to a £60m deal with Manchester City providing they would find a replacement for the Chilean.
Therefore, Arsene Wenger made a bid for the 22-year-old in the region of £92m on deadline day of the last transfer window. Despite Monaco accepting the bid for the Frenchman, Lemar turned down the opportunity to sign for the North London club.
In a later interview, Arsene Wenger revealed: "Lemar chose to stay at Monaco.You have to respect what happens on the negotiation side. You have to not talk too much about that."
Furthermore, the French manager displayed his desire for Sanchez to stay at the club and hopes to convince the player to sign another long-term contract. However, due to recent performances and his attitude on the pitch, it appears that this will not be the case.
Therefore, a replacement is needed for Arsenal - and this replacement is Thomas Lemar.
Fierce competition
However, Arsenal faces fierce competition, as it's rumoured that Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool are interested in the Frenchman's services.
The Reds will hope to land the creative winger as he is a direct replacement for Coutinho, who is more than likely going to depart Anfield for Barcelona this summer.
Both Arsenal and Liverpool are in similar situations come January.
The two clubs will aim to capture the 22-year-old to act as a replacement for their star-players - no pressure, Thomas.
However, it appears that Liverpool may have the edge over Arsenal as they are able to offer something which the North London side are unable to provide: Champions League football.
For the first time in 20-years, the Gunners are absent from the prestigious competition, playing their football in the Europa League.
In addition to this, due to recent form within the Premier League, it's unlikely that Arsenal will feature in the Champions League next season too - simply due to the number of teams that have played better than them this season.
Therefore, with Lemar unsettled in Ligue 1, expect to see the Frenchman in a red shirt next season. Which red shirt? Well, we'll see in September.
