ARSENAL have received a transfer blow with Juventus reportedly set to open talks with Lyon about Houssem Aouar.
The Gunners have been heavily linked with the midfielder but look set to be pipped by the Italian giants who want him to move in the summer.
Mikel Arteta was said to be keen on bringing the Frenchman in this month.
He also caught the eye of Paris Saint-Germain and was valued around £45million.
Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas was adamant Aouar would not be sold in January.
And that suits Juve who want to agree a deal to bring him to Turin in the summer, according to Sky Italia.
The Old Lady reportedly tried to sign the 22-year-old last summer and remain keen.
And they are said to have held provisional talks with the player’s agent before an official approach is made.
Arsenal also tried to sign the French international last summer.
The North Londoners negotiated long and hard to try to get a discounted deal for the man who has three goals and three assists from 16 games this season.
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But eventually they were forced to trigger Thomas Partey’s £45m release fee with Lyon not willing to let their star man go cheaply.
And in November, Lyon general manager Vincent Ponsont revealed THREE clubs were chasing Aouar in the summer.
And he claimed Arsenal offered too little, even though they were willing to give them a ‘discount’ due to the financial repercussions of coronavirus.
Ponsont told L’Equipe: “We had three big clubs for him. The first one was more for next season.
“The second one was related to the departure of a player, and with this club, we could have come to an agreement.
“The third club was Arsenal, who offered below the market value.
“We discussed it with the player’s entourage, and together we took the decision to say no.
“The priority for us was clearly to keep the team competitive.”
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