Ryan Fraser Doubts 'Anyone Will Be Paying' £30M Fee Amid Arsenal Rumours

Ryan Fraser has his doubts Arsenal or any other interested club will meet Bournemouth's asking price of £30 million during this summer's transfer window.

The creative winger, who has been heavily linked with the Gunners, spoke to The Scotsman's Stephen Halliday and cast doubt on the idea he will be allowed to leave the Cherries (h/t Goal).

"I honestly don't think anyone will be paying [£30 million]," he said. "It was six or seven months ago that we last spoke about my future, but nothing since. Even in the end-of-season meeting I had with the manager [Eddie Howe], we didn't speak about my future."

This isn't the first time Fraser has expressed reservations about moving on from Dean Court. The 25-year-old, whose contract expires next summer, said: "The likelihood is I will be at Bournemouth for another year," per Alex Milne of the Daily Mirror.

Football.London's James Benge has reported the Gunners "favour a move" for Fraser over the potential signing of Yannick Carrasco. The latter plies his trade for Chinese Super League side Dalian Yifang, but he has made it clear he wants to leave, telling AS (h/t Vaishali Bhardwaj of the London Evening Standard), "The whole world knows that I want to return to Europe."

Arsenal could face strong competition for the former Atletico Madrid star, though:

It makes a move for Fraser seem like a more realistic alternative. The Scotland international has gone from strength to strength with the Cherries.

Fraser enjoyed a terrific 2018/19 campaign, during which he finished second only to Eden Hazard for assists in the Premier League with 14. He established a niche as the creative fulcrum for Bournemouth:

Numbers like those are likely why Arsenal head coach Unai Emery covets Fraser.

Emery knows he has two lethal strikers in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette, and the duo combined for 50 goals during the season, a number made more impressive by the lack of natural wingers in the Arsenal squad. Emery was instead reliant on central schemers such as Mesut Ozil, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Aaron Ramsey and Alex Iwobi.

A player like Fraser, who can deliver from wide areas, would give Aubameyang and Lacazette even more chances to convert:

Fraser's fruitful partnership with Bournemouth striker Callum Wilson provides a tantalising glimpse of what he could do playing alongside the Gunners' match-winners up top:

Emery has been trying to make his squad more versatile since replacing Arsene Wenger in the dugout last summer. Fraser wouldn't be the most fashionable signing, but he would add a new dimension to an Arsenal team long geared to work through the middle.