Arsenal Reportedly Give Up Pursuit of Monaco Star With Club Unlikely to Sell Winger This Summer

Arsenal have admitted defeat in their pursuit of Monaco winger Thomas Lemar.

The Gunners remain interested in signing the 21-year-old, who contributed nine goals and 10 assists last season as Monaco were crowned Ligue 1 champions, but understand that Leonardo Jardim's side are unlikely to sell Lemar this summer.

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The Daily Mail claim Monaco's stance means Arsenal are unlikely to make any more signings this summer, with only striker Alexandre Lacazette and defender Sead Kolasinac moving to the Emirates.

The report also states that the stance is irrespective of whether star forward Kylian Mbappe, courted by the likes of Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain after scoring 26 goals in all competitions last season, leaves the Stade Louis II.

Instead of bringing fresh faces in, Arsenal Wenger will now concentrate on reducing his club's wage bill by selling a number of fringe players, including Mathieu Debuchy, Kieran Gibbs, Carl Jenkinson, Lucas Perez and Joel Campbell.

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None of those players are thought to be close to finding new clubs, with Gibbs' move to Watford falling through due to a dispute over wages and Newcastle being unable to finance a fee for Perez, nor his wages.

While the north London side are not actively looking to sell Jack Wilshere, the England international is currently way down the pecking order at Arsenal and the club will likely let him leave in the next three weeks or release him on a free next year at the end of his contract.

Lemar played the full 90 minutes in Monaco's Ligue 1 opener as Les Monegasques beat Toulouse 3-2.