Houssem Aouar was one of the stars of Lyon’s impressive run in this season’s Champions League. His form has caught the eye of several top European clubs including Arsenal. Reports indicate that Arsenal’s first offer of Matteo Guendouzi and a lesser amount than the £54 million that Lyon are reportedly demanding has been rejected by the French side.
Making his debut in 2017, the 22-year-old has amassed 137 first team appearances, scoring 24 goals and providing 27 assists, including 7 goal contributions (1 goal and 6 assists) in 8 appearances in the yet to be concluded 2019/20 Champions League. He has been very integral to Lyon’s season making a total of 41 appearances scoring 9 goals and providing 10 assists across all competitions.
Aouar is a versatile attacking midfielder, who can play anywhere in midfield, and has been praised for his excellent technical ability and his calmness with the ball at his feet. With Dani Ceballos returning to Real Madrid after his loan spell, and Matteo Guendouzi as well as Lucas Torreira seemingly falling out of favor, and reportedly on their way out, Arsenal are in need of central midfielders. Houssem Aouar might just be that creative and effective central midfielder that Arteta so crave.
Arteta has had to change tactics in the past season to compensate for the general lack of creativity in the squad, since the freezing out of the most creative player in the team in Mesut Ozil. this therefore might just the opportunity to address that issue , especially with the future of Ozil still up in the air.
