Monaco vice-president: Thomas Lemar was interested in both Arsenal and Liverpool transfer

Posted Monday, September 04, 2017 by squawka.com

Monaco vice-president Vadim Vasilyev has revealed that Thomas Lemar was interested in potential moves to Arsenal and Liverpool during the transfer window.

Lemar was the subject of intense transfer speculation over the past few months, with Arsenal and Liverpool both being heavily linked with the talented winger.
However, neither move materialised and the 21-year-old ended up staying at Monaco, who lost several key players this summer, including Kylian Mbappe, Tiemoue Bakayoko and Benjamin Mendy.

Vasilyev told TASS (via Get Football News France): "It was not easy. Thomas wanted to go to Arsenal and to Liverpool, but we had discussions and we took a communal decision so that he could stay here.

"He is a very important player for us. We could not have sold him, it would have affected the entire team and the individuals."

Lemar showed Arsenal and Liverpool what they missed out on by scoring a brace as France thrashed the Netherlands 4-0 in a World Cup qualifier on Thursday night.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has since stated that the Gunners will return with an offer for Lemar in the future, suggesting that this transfer saga is far from finished.

For now, however, Lemar will be focused on helping Monaco to try and retain the Ligue 1 title.

Last season Lemar produced some excellent displays - he scored nine goals and created 70 chances in the league, which sparked the aforementioned interest in him.