The failed transfer of Thomas Lemar to Arsenal for a club-record £92million was a huge disappointment for the French winger.
The then-Monaco ace had been pivotal in their unexpected Ligue 1 triumph during the 2016-17 campaign. With team-mates Kylian Mbappe, Tiemoue Bakayoko, Benjamin Mendy, and Bernardo Silva all leaving in the summer of 2017, Lemar seemed set to join them with a move to the Gunners looming on Deadline Day.
Arsenal had agreed to what would have been a record-breaking British transfer fee of £92m for the talented wide player, contingent on offloading Alexis Sanchez to Manchester City that same day.
City, managed by Pep Guardiola, had tabled a last-minute offer for the Chilean forward, which would have enabled Arsene Wenger to fund the Lemar acquisition with the proceeds.
But the deal fell apart when Lemar, 29, due to join the France national team later that day, wasn't informed in time by Monaco about the potential transfer, leading to him staying in France for another season and Sanchez remaining at Arsenal despite having an agreement with City, reports the Mirror.
Dick Law, the former Arsenal executive, disclosed the intricacies of the botched deal in an exclusive interview with Goal in 2019. "There were no formal offers for Sanchez until the end of the window when the Manchester City one came in," he explained.
Arsene Wenger was in attendance for the first leg of Arsenal's Champions League semi-final
Arsene Wenger was ready to break the British transfer record for Thomas Lemar in 2017 (Image: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
"So then you run into a pretty simple calculation. It was the end of the window, literally the last day, and we wanted to be in a competitive position for the Champions League the next season. Were we more likely to compete for a Champions League position with Sanchez or without him? The decision was, we would be more competitive with him.
"We did try to get Thomas Lemar that day, but it didn't get done. We thought we had Lemar and then that would have meant Sanchez to Manchester City. It was as simple operation of using the Sanchez money to pay for Lemar.
"We had a deal done for Lemar, Sanchez had a deal done with City. But Lemar had been called up for France and Monaco had played the thing out and they ended up playing it out too long.
"They didn't send a clear signal to the player before he left for the national team and when they did send that signal, Lemar was already there with the French national team on the day of their international match and the deal fell apart.
Thomas Lemar of Atletico de Madrid and Isaac Romero of Sevilla FC in action during the Spanish League, LaLiga EA Sports, football match played between Sevilla FC and Atletico de Madrid at Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium
The Frenchman has been plagued by injuries over the last two seasons (Image: Europa Press via Getty Images)
"It was a shame because it would have been interesting to see Lemar at Arsenal, but you have to move on from these decisions and circumstances. You can't sit and dwell on what might have been."
After remaining at Monaco for the 2017/18 campaign, Lemar reflected on the failed move during the season, expressing his sadness: "I am not going to hide it; I was a bit disappointed," he confessed in 2018.
"But there is no point fixating on that. I have continued to work so that these clubs might come back for me in the following transfer window." His persistence clearly reaped rewards as he clinched a move to Atletico Madrid that summer, securing the deal for £62m, where he still plays.
However, since his departure from Monaco, expectations haven't quite been met – something that probably hasn't caused Arsenal too much heartache – with a modest tally of 10 goals and 19 assists from 186 appearances for Atletico.
In 2020, Diego Simeone transformed him into a central midfielder, but a battle with injuries and dips in form have since limited his contribution to just 11 outings across all competitions over the last two seasons.
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Arsenal Manager Mikel Arteta, Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Jesus with the Arsenal Therapy Dog Win during the Arsenal Men's team group shoot at London Colney on September 18, 2023
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