Arsenal opinion: Should the Gunners consider a move for a Thomas Lemar?
Spanish news outlet Marca has reported that Arsenal are interested in a move for La Liga star Thomas Lemar in the summer. The 24-year-old is currently at Atletico Madrid, having joined the La Liga giants last summer in a €60million move (Guardian).
However, his move hasn’t exactly gone to plan, with Lemar struggling to fit into Diego Simeone’s plans. The former Atletico Madrid fan favourite has been the boss at the club for just over eight years, leading them to glory with a number of players finding their foot under his tutelage.
That was supposed to work for Lemar, with the former Monaco man bringing flair and creativity to Simeone’s organised Atletico. While the Frenchman has done exactly that, he’s failed to do it on a consistent basis, struggling for reasons known only to him.
It is one of the many reasons why Arsenal should not even consider re-igniting a move for the Frenchman. The Gunners were heavily linked with a move for Lemar last season (Marca), with the 23-year-old even revealing that he was waiting for the move (ESPN).
The Gunners were losing Alexis Sanchez and thus earmarked Thomas Lemar as the best man to replace him.
Nothing ever materialised with the Chilean leaving for Manchester United in a swap deal which saw Henrikh Mkhitaryan join Arsenal. Lemar struggled after that, producing just 12 goals in his final season with Monaco.
He’s continued to struggle at Atletico Madrid, producing just 8 goals so far, with his first and second La Liga goals coming with a gap of 8 months between them.
Furthermore, the pace and the physicality of the Premier League is not something the 23-year-old can survive in.
As witnessed this season in the La Liga, Thomas Lemar has often struggled with the physical side of the game. What Arsenal need is someone who can prove themselves at the highest level consistently and someone who is willing to do the defensive side of the game.
Lemar needs to concentrate and prove that the initial hype surrounding him wasn’t for nothing.
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Conclusion
Thomas Lemar, though talented, has been overhyped over the last few years. The 23-year-old needs to start playing consistently and that is something Atletico Madrid can give him. The move would be detrimental to Arsenal as he does not fit the club’s need at the moment.