Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said Monaco have “closed the door” on a move for Thomas Lemar but did not rule out the possibility that another signing could still be in the works.
Arsenal have pursued midfielder Lemar all summer long and at least 2 bids they have made were ultimately rejected.
“It’s dead because Monaco have closed the door definitely” Wenger said (h/t ESPN FC).
Arsenal have made only 2 signings so far this summer, Lyon striker Alexandre Lacazette and Schalke left-back Sead Kolasinac.
“It depends how many players will go to see if we can bring one more in” Wenger said.
“We are on alert in the last seven days.”
“Everybody gets agitated and phones ring more often than before. Sometimes you have to share the work in the final day because you have some cases going out and some coming in. The last two days are always very hectic.”
Despite how things have been recently, Wenger says that he is “completely happy” with the team moving forward.
Arsenal has sold Gabriel Paulista and also expect striker Lucas Perez to leave.
Defenders Kieran Gibbs and Mathieu Debuchy are also looking to exit as well.
Despite Chelsea’s bis for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Wenger stated that he is dedicated to keeping him on the team.
“I want him to stay and be one of the big players of the future of this club. He is one of the players this team has to be built around in the future,” Wenger said.
“I want to keep my best players. I only have one target: to keep everybody on board.
“I think we invested a lot of time, confidence and money on players like Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who we bought at a young age. For me, they have a responsibility for the future of this club.
“I personally am highly determined to keep him here, and I hope he will commit.”
Milan has been linked to centre-back Shkodran Mustafi in recent weeks.
“It’s difficult for me to speak about any individual cases because we are now in the final seven days of the transfer market.
“It’s always very difficult to predict what will happen there.”
