Arsenal Transfer News: Riyad Mahrez's Agent Denies Rumoured Gunners Move

Riyad Mahrez's agent, Kamel Bengougam, has denied Arsenal have any interest in the Leicester City winger, according to Ed Aarons of the Guardian.

A report from Eurosport France (h/t Mark Critchley of The Independent) stated how Mahrez had agreed to join the Gunners in a deal worth up to €50 million. But the stance from the agent, relayed by Aarons, will at least pour some cold water on that talk.

Mahrez has already indicated he wants to leave Leicester, even after helping the Foxes to a shock Premier League title win last season, per Aarons earlier in July.

Since then, Leicester skipper Wes Morgan has urged the Algerian to stay, with manager Claudio Ranieri expressing his confidence Mahrez won't leave, according to the Guardian's Ben Fisher.

Rui Vieira/Associated Press

Still, Mahrez represents an ideal target for Arsenal. The PFA Player of the Year for last season can provide goals, trickery and flair from the right wing, a problem position for the Gunners in recent years.

Manager Arsene Wenger has tried a host of players in this troublesome spot, with only minimal degrees of success. Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Joel Campbell and Aaron Ramsey have all been deployed on the right flank.

What Wenger needs is a natural winger. Few are better than Mahrez, whose deadly left foot and ability to check back inside make him prolific in front of goal.

The Frenchman has struggled to recruit a marquee centre-forward to improve Arsenal's forward line this summer. Instead, he may find signing a goalscoring winger a more achievable way of solving the need for more goals.

It's an option that has grown in importance, with star man Alexis Sanchez, who usually operates on the left, nursing an ankle injury. Wenger recently revealed the problem is enough to keep Sanchez out of the club's pre-season tour to California, per Arsenal Player (h/t Uche Amako of the Daily Express).

With or without Sanchez, the Gunners need another player who can create and score goals. If there's a chance of doing a deal for Mahrez, it's one Wenger couldn't afford to miss.