Lyon star Houssem Aouar has provided an insight into his current mindset, after missing out on a potential move to Arsenal.
Partey > Aouar
The pursuit of midfield reinforcements at the Emirates proved one of the talking points of the summer transfer window.
Mikel Arteta, despite having secured Dani Ceballos’ loan return, evidently felt as though his side’s ranks in the middle of the park were still lacking in comparison to the Premier League’s top clubs.
In turn, the Gunners focused their attentions on a pair of highly-regarded, albeit completely different midfield options – Thomas Partey and the aforementioned Aouar.
And, over lengthy stretches during the final weeks of the window, Lyon standout Aouar had looked the out-and-out favourite to link up with Arteta’s squad.
In fact, reports stemming from France went as far as to suggest that the 22-year-old had agreed personal terms with Arsenal:
🔴INFO TELEFOOT [MERCATO]@HoussemAouar d’accord pour rejoindre @Arsenal !
🧳 Le Lyonnais privilégiait le @FCBarcelona et la @juventusfc mais pas d’offres concrètes
💶 Discussions à venir entre l’@OL et les #Gunners pour affiner le montant proposé#telefootlachaine #transfert pic.twitter.com/kUsuUDG4s3
— TELEFOOT LA CHAINE DU FOOT (@telefoot_chaine) September 25, 2020
When all was said and done, however, a transfer evidently failed to come to fruition.
This, in turn, left Arsenal with little choice but to switch their attentions back to Thomas Partey, with the capital giants having gone on to clinch a deadline day deal for the Ghanaian.
‘I am at home’
And, as outlined above, on the back of his failed Gunners switch, Aouar has since opened up on where his head is currently at.
The gifted midfielder is on international duty with France this week, and started in Les Bleus’ dominant 7-1 victory over Ukraine on Wednesday night.
Speaking in a press conference ahead of his country’s upcoming meeting with Portugal, meanwhile, Aouar was drawn on the constant media speculation surrounding his name over the course of the summer.
The Lyon talisman, though, was first keen to assure that he remains fully committed to helping Rudi Garcia’s men return to the summit of French football:
‘Of course I asked myself all the necessary questions.’
‘I am in the headspace to have a great season with my club and get back the points that we have lost. So of course we are going to try to do the best season and to try to put the team and the club back in its rightful place, at the top of France.’
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 19: Houssem Aouar of Lyon runs with the ball during the Group F match of the UEFA Champions League between Manchester City and Olympique Lyonnais at Etihad Stadium on September 19, 2018 in Manchester, United Kingdom. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
When drawn directly on whether he has been left disappointed by his failure to seal a move to one of Europe’s heavyweights following Arsenal’s intense interest, Aouar added:
‘Disappointed? I am the opposite. I am at home, in the club that I love, with my friends and my family.’
‘So certainly I have all my bearings and it is giving me even more motivation to have a good season and to bring the club back into the top places in France.’
Quotes via Goal
