Arsenal make Thomas Lemar breakthrough?

Arsenal are reported to be finalising a £45m deal for Thomas Lemar despite AS Monaco ruling out the winger's sale for the summer.

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger has kept a close eye on both Kylian Mbappe and Thomas Lemar in recent months, although a move for the former is out of the question.

According to The Sun, the Principality outfit are prepared to accept a fee of around £45m from the Gunners rather than prolonging the attacker's stay for another season.

However, there may not be much truth to the report with Monaco vice president Vadim Vasilyev recently stating that the likes of Lemar and Fabinho would stay put at Stade Louis II.

"Fabinho and [Thomas] Lemar are essential players, they will stay with us," he said via The Mirror. "We have kept all of the key players we intended to keep."

Lemar netted 14 goals and assisted a further 14 for Monaco last season as they ended their 17-year wait for the Ligue 1 title. 

The French champions also made significant progress in the Champions League, only to lose out to competition runners-up Juventus in the semi-final stage.