Aouar reveals he snubbed Arsenal transfer to ‘continue with the club that raised me’ after scoring for Lyon vs Marseille
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LYON ace Houssem Aouar revealed he snubbed a move to Arsenal to continue with the club that raised him.
Gunners boss Mikel Arteta had been eager to sign the 22-year-old French midfielder throughout the summer.
But talks over a deal collapsed with reports suggesting Arsenal were unable to meet the French club's asking price after extended negotiations.
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Any hopes of a late deal being agreed appeared over after he played and scored in a 1-1 draw with Marseille on Sunday night.
After the contest, he was quizzed on why he stayed at Lyon and told Telefoot: "First because I feel that I could still bring things to this team and the club, it's that simple.
"I wanted to continue the adventure with the club that raised me. We now have to raise our heads because we have to do better."
Aouar came through the youth ranks at Lyon and the club were demanding £45million for his signature.
It was also suggested the player didn't want to leave so late in the transfer window in fear that he would struggle to hit the ground running and put his Euro 2021 hopes in doubt.
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Arteta was hopeful of raising funds to land his signature but struggled to find permanent buyers for Matteo Guendouzi and Lucas Torreira with the latter leaving for Atletico Madrid on loan.
It also means their pursuit of Thomas Partey also appears over.
The Atletico star was also available for around £40m and Arsenal's transfer window looks set to end in disappointment.