On Aouar, never say never with a few days remaining in the window, especially given Lyon’s history with these things. But the news coming out of France this afternoon does reflect a weakening optimism at #AFC over the last few days that a deal can be done. : Gunners

Last season, we walked away from the window with Gabriel, Tierney, Pepe, Luiz, and Ceballos on loan, with three of those coming in the closing few days of the window.

This season, we got Auba’s extension, Ceballos loan for a second time, and Gabriel Magalhaes, as well as doing good business for Emi and picking up Volcano Man in his stead. But fuck me, we thought it was going to be Partey Aouar, and we had a pretty solid chance to sign both, but the club want to pinch pennies so hard that it’s actively sabotaging our attempts to bring in new signings.

I get it. After paying 72m for Pepe, we want to be loads more cautious with our transfers. But the clubs with ambitions at or above Top 4 are splashing the cash, and we’re just sitting here trying to not quite pay 40m, and not quite pay 50m. At some point, if the club wants to advance, they’re gonna have to suck it up and spend money, meet deadlines, and maximize the use of the transfer window time we’ve got, because if we get neither player, then it’s been a fucking waste of the last month or so.