Arsenal dealt blow in pursuit of 24-year-old Lyon star

Arsenal have been dealt a huge blow to their ambitions to sign Lyon playmaker Nabil Fekir with the player having expressed desire to play in the La Liga instead, Metro reveals.

Fekir was heavily linked with Arsenal and Manchester City this summer, but the Gunners ended up signing his teammate Alexandre Lacazzete for £52.7 million. 

There has been known mutual admiration between Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane and the young forward, with Fekir being quoted last summer “If Zizou called, I would be there tomorrow.”

The 24-year-old has been compared to Zidane because of his silky style of playing and great vision, something Arsenal have been missing since Santi Cazorla got sidelined with a serious foot problem in October last year.

And with the likely departures of Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez in January, Fekir is deemed as an ideal replacement.

The forward has been impressive this season with nine goals and four assists so far as Lyon sit third in Ligue 1.

Fekir is currently tied to Lyon until 2020 and is evaluated at around £50 million.

More: This 22-year-old PSV winger could be Sanchez’ replacement