‘Real importance’: Houssem Aouar is a huge fan of Arsenal’s new £35m target

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You know the transfer window is entering it’s final stretch when Arsenal are trying to sign a player from Lyon. It’s become something of an annual tradition these days.

And, this time, it’s not Moussa Dembele or Houssem Aouar’s name who is being dragged through the gossip columns.

According to Goal, Arsenal have made contact with Lyon – who we assume must be on Edu’s speed dial at this stage – about a potential deal for Bruno Guimaraes instead.

The Ligue 1 giants have responded quicky and bullishly; The bidding, they say, will start at £30 million for a man who’s intelligence in and out of possession has caught the eye over in Tokyo as Brazil go all-out for Olympic gold once again.

And if his name sounds familiar to you, then there’s a good reason for that.

Arsenal were interested in Guimaraes in January 2020 too, shortly before he swapped Atletico Paranaense for one of the biggest clubs in France (Goal). Edu, Arsenal’s Brazilian deal-maker, has been watching the 23-year-old powerhouse for some time, it seems.

Will Arsenal finally sign a Lyon player – but not Houssem Aouar?

“He has real importance to the team game. He puts in a lot of effort, he plays between the lines and constantly offers solutions for our defenders,” long-standing Arsenal target Aouar told GFFN last year, blown away by the impact Guimaraes had made at Lyon.

“His presence is doing us a lot of good. Since he has installed himself as the defensive midfielder, it allows me to not necessarily have to come too deep to pick up balls, and on the rare occasions that I do, he gives it to me.

“We understand each other very well. The whole team game is more fluid with him.”

Guimaraes, a player with ‘enormous potential’, has been compared to Kevin de Bruyne by Brazil coach Tite but it seems that Arsenal see him more as a Granit Xhaka replacement, an alternative to the Turin-bound Manuel Locatelli.

But as Arsenal discovered last summer when Lyon rejected a £35 million bid Aouar, Les Gones will not bullied into selling a key player against their will.