Sky Sports reported earlier today that Arsenal’s chances of signing Lyon’s Houssem Aouar are now almost zero. The Frenchman will stay with his boyhood club for another year, and that is a big blow for the Gunners on transfer deadline day.
Aouar was expected by many to be the man who would force Arteta to revert to a four at the back formation. The Frenchman is a quality number 10, and his addition would have solved Arsenal’s issues with creativity in the final third.
Now that he has decided to stay with Lyon, Arsenal have a lot to think about. Leaving it until transfer deadline day is always a risk, but the Gunners have had success on the final day in the past.
However, it looks like it won’t be the case in this window, especially with respect to Aouar. Arteta now has a huge decision to make.
Should he move Dani Ceballos into an advanced number 10 role? Or should he stick with 3-4-3 which, despite limiting Arsenal’s attacking potential, has worked well over the last few months.
Gunners supporters would have loved Aouar at the Emirates. The Frenchman’s vision would have helped unleash Arsenal’s front three, but it looks like that dream is now over.
However, some supporters think they have a solution to the number 10 problem. Arsenal fans have urged Arteta to change his mind about Mesut Ozil, who has been left out of the squad since Project Restart.
The German is arguably Arsenal’s best creator. The former Real Madrid man played brilliantly under Arteta before the lockdown, but problems behind the scenes have seen him omitted from the matchday squad, which isn’t ideal considering his enormous wages.
If Arsenal fail to bring in Aouar or someone of his creativity in this window, some fans feel that it might be a good idea to reintegrate Ozil into the squad; something that Arteta has been reluctant to do over the last three months.
Here is how a few Arsenal fans reacted on Twitter
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
