Arsenal boss confirms Thomas Lemar turned down Arsenal move

Arsenal head coach Arsene Wenger has confirmed that the Gunners were unsuccessful in luring Thomas Lemar to the Emirates on transfer deadline day.

The north London giants had a fourth bid worth £92m accepted for the Monaco attacker on Thursday night, but the deal could not materialise any further after Lemar cited his desire to remain at Stade Louis II.

Speaking to BeIN Sports, Wenger insisted that the deal was scuppered purely to the 21-year-old wanting to prolong his stay with the French champions.

"The player has chosen to stay at Monaco. I know we live in an era of transparency but at some stage, to respect everybody, you have to not talk too much about that. You have to respect what happens on the negotiation side." he told beIN Sports. 

Lemar went on to score an impressive brace in France's 4-0 win over the Netherlands on Thursday evening and his performance was watched by Arsene Wenger in the stands - with regret over what could have been.

Regardless of this, Wenger will be happy having Alexis Sanchez back in his ranks after his proposed move to Manchester City was blocked due to Lemar's stance.