Arsenal Transfer News: Alexandre Lacazette, Thomas Lemar, Kylian Mbappe Rumours

Arsenal have reportedly accepted the chances of signing Monaco's Kylian Mbappe this summer are small and are set to focus on signing Alexandre Lacazette from Lyon and Mbappe's team-mate Thomas Lemar instead. 

According to the Daily Mail's Sami Mokbel, manager Arsene Wenger had made Mbappe the Gunners' "priority target" this summer, but the club are aware it's a deal they're unlikely to pull off given the level of competition they face, with Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain among those keen to snap him up.

Lacazette and Lemar are now said to be their "main focus."

The former is a clinical striker who racked up 37 goals in all competitions last season, and the 26-year-old has a proven track record as a prolific goalscorer having surpassed 20 in each of the last four campaigns.

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The latter was one of many Monaco stars to catch the eye last year as he helped the club win the Ligue 1 title.

Lemar, 21, contributed 14 goals and 17 assists from the left wing in all competitions, and he created 70 chances in the French top flight, according to Squawka. Only Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez laid on more opportunities at Arsenal.

BBC Sport's David Ornstein gave the latest on Arsenal's progress for the two players:

Indeed, the difficulty in snapping up Lemar is that a great many of his team-mates are also attracting interest and Monaco are going to draw the line somewhere.

French football expert Andrew Gibney expressed his doubts about Lemar leaving for Arsenal before the season had even finished:

He's likely to be far more attainable than Mbappe, and there's no doubt he'd make a phenomenal signing, but it will be a difficult deal to pull off as Monaco look to avoid being completely gutted this summer.

Lacazette will make for a superb addition to the front line and the Gunners are right to focus on more realistic captures than Mbappe, but if they're also looking to add more creativity and width to the side they may have to look elsewhere besides Lemar.