Same old story as Wenger goes in pursuit of Juventus midfielder
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Arsenal fans are crying out for Arsene Wenger to buy a centre-half and a striker, but as is seemingly said most summers, the Gunners boss has earmarked a midfielder instead.
That man is Juventus’ Mario Lemina and the Italian club have reportedly rejected Arsenal’s opening gambit of £16m.
Italian news outlet Tuttomercatoweb.com claim a £20m fee would be enough to sway Juve’s hand, despite only signing the Gabon international permanently this summer following a year on loan from Marseille.
A box-to-box midfielder, West Brom were linked with a move earlier this summer, while German club Schalke are prepared to shell out a sizable fee for Lemina, although Arsenal are keen to avoid a bidding war.
The 22-year-old has plenty of potential to be a fine player, but the move wouldn’t solve Arsenal’s more pressing concerns.
Losing 4-3 to Liverpool on the opening weekend of the new Premier League season only served to highlight the Gunners’ immediate need for a centre-half.
Defensive pairing Calum Chambers and Rob Holding didn’t get near to Liverpool’s attacking forays on Sunday.
Gooners are getting increasingly frustrated with Wenger’s inability to sign Shkodran Mustafi from Valencia, while a recognised world class centre-forward remains elusive at the Emirates.
And as a move for Mustafi continues to hit the stumbling blocks, it all but rules out the player from featuring this weekend as Arsenal head to the reigning champions.
The Gunners did beat Leicester home and away last term however, and the bookies make Wenger’s men slight favourites at the King Power stadium in Saturday’s tea-time kick-off.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
