Arsenal: Thomas Lemar joining Atletico a lesson for life after Wenger

It is official. Thomas Lemar joining Atletico Madrid is a fitting end to Arsenal’s same old missing the target running gag.

After spending the month in Russia, Thomas Lemar will head south to join forces with his French teammate Antoine Griezmann at Atletico Madrid.

Lemar was linked to a move to Arsenal throughout last summer, as the Gunners were reported to offer as many as $92 million on the table. No deal was ever materialized as the winger stayed at AS Monaco for the campaign until Atletico pulled off the deal from virtually out of nowhere.

As Atletico fans celebrate what can be the steal of this summer considering it had to pay a bargain fee of $65 million, Lemar not going to the Emirates is a fitting end to Arsenal’s misery transfer saga.  It has become a running gag in the final years of Arsene Wenger’s reign that Arsenal would target a couple of big fishes on the market, only then to lose the bait because of Wenger’s hesitation to sign the cheque.

Lemar’s case was different. Arsenal had plenty of assets entering last summer to make a big splash. The Gunners had an abundance of fringe players that they could field a different lineup in minor competitions. Most importantly, they had two disgruntled stars, Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez, who could still make big bucks despite entering their final years of the contract.

Arsenal’s messy transfer execution

What unfolded last summer was classic Arsenal. Lemar was a life-for-life replacement for Sanchez who already left Arsenal before January’s deal with Manchester United. Instead of cashing on the Chilean early to give the team plenty of time to consider all options and rebuild the team, Wenger stalled until the last minutes. It was clear from the beginning that he had nothing left to offer, including any incentives to his wantaway superstars.

Having a not too savvy budget meant Arsenal needed to make money before spending it. The Gunners could make a package out of Sanchez and those fringe players in exchange for Lemar, but Wenger did nothing except watch the clock tick until it was up. A frantic deadline day saw Manchester City’s coach Pep Guardiola offer a trade package of Raheem Sterling and $55 million, but the intervention was too late.

In the end, those of Mathieu Debuchy, Theo Walcott, Francis Coquelin, Olivier Giroud had to wait until January to depart Emirates. By then, Sanchez’s value had diminished to a swap deal with Henrikh Mkhitaryan, whose struggles at England continued after he moved to London.