Arsenal preparing club-record £80m raid for AS Monaco forward Thomas Lemar

Arsenal are reportedly preparing to break their club-record transfer fee for the second time this summer in a bid to land France international starlet Thomas Lemar, according to the Daily Mail.

The Premier League side, who finished fifth in the English top-flight standings last term, one point adrift of fourth placed Liverpool in the race for UEFA Champions League qualification, have been continuously linked with a mega-money move for the highly-rated AS Monaco winger.

The 21-year-old, who has five international caps for his country, scored an impressive 14 goals and provided 17 assists in 55 appearances in all competitions for the Ligue 1 champions last season.

Monaco’s Lemar.

Lemar, who was in fact born in Guadeloupe, has netted 19 goals in 89 games overall for Monaco since joining from fellow French outfit Caen back in 2015.

But despite the French outfit insisting they do not want to sell the talented wideman this summer, Gunners boss Arsene Wenger is set to return with a bid close to £80m for his services, including add-ons, having already splashed out a club-record £52m on fellow Frenchman Alexandre Lacazette from Lyon this transfer window.