Arsenal's failure to secure Thomas Lemar on deadline day nine years ago not only cost the club a £92 million deal but also prevented Alexis Sanchez from joining Manchester City. The summer transfer window has now opened, and Mikel Arteta will be keen to avoid a repeat of the saga that saw Sanchez's move collapse at the eleventh hour.
Sanchez had completed three seasons at the Emirates and attracted interest from Pep Guardiola's City. Arsenal provisionally agreed to sell the Chilean for £55 million, but only if they could land Monaco's Thomas Lemar as a replacement. The Gunners matched Monaco's £92 million asking price, but the deal fell through after Lemar played in a World Cup qualifier for France, leaving no time for a medical.
Arsenal claimed they ran out of time, but City believed Lemar had rejected the move. Arsene Wenger even offered Sanchez a new contract worth £300,000 per week, but the forward eventually left for Manchester United in a straight swap for Henrikh Mkhitaryan. Sanchez's £560,000-a-week package at United proved disastrous, yielding just five goals in 45 appearances before a loan to Inter Milan.
Lemar joined Atletico Madrid a year later for £63 million, but has managed only 10 goals and 186 appearances in eight seasons, including a recent loan at Girona. Mkhitaryan's impact at Arsenal was modest, but the club avoided a much larger blunder. Arteta will hope to avoid such upheaval as Arsenal aim to retain the Premier League title and progress further in Europe.
