Arsenal News: Transfer Window Motives Revealed + Mbappé's Thoughts on Arsenal

A lot has been reveled during this international break regarding certain players and our overall transfer window. Here are some of the highlights:

DAVID ORNSTEIN REVEALS ALL

From @bbcsport_david

Some of this stuff, of course, we already knew about. For instance, we were heavily interested in signing Lemar and we even did the most un-Arsenal like thing and bid for him desperately at the end of the window like Man United did for Martial back when Van Gaal was in charge. 

We also knew that we wanted to keep Alexis, Ozil, and Chamberlain, obviously, one of which has not been fulfilled and there have been reports of a furious/upset Wenger over the whole Ox situation; clearly Wenger saw him as part of our future plans. 

There were also several players who we were okay with leaving the club, which I'm assuming is part of Wenger's plan to clear up the wage bill to bring in more expensive players (like Lemar) and for our current signings (like Lacazette). 

One thing that came as a surprise was the fact that Mustafi wanted to leave the club, which to me is a bit disappointing because I remember how solid our defense was when we had him alongside Koscienly last season until we did our annual season collapse. 

From @bbcsport_david

So here goes our existing suspicions: Bellerin wanted to leave due to interest from Barcelona, Alexis has shown interest to leave, Ozil contract talks have not been progressing and Oxlade-Chamberlain rejected a big pay raise and wanted out. This all but confirms that the club is still in a vulnerable position when it comes to keeping our key players and that there needs there needs to be improvements made on the pitch in order to keep a hold of these players. 

What Could've Mbappéd?

MAGALI DELPORTE

Kylian Mbappé was considering joining us according to him. Obviously, any big club out in Europe wanted to get a hold of Mbappé and we were one of the clubs that really wanted him and has been confirmed again in Wenger's most recent press conference. Apparently, he was very close to signing for us last season. 

“Yes, I met with Arsene Wenger, who is a great coach,” Mbappe said according to the Telegraph. 

“He has a great reputation here in France, he’s well-respected and knows how to develop young players. This was a real option for me. But, of course, Paris Saint-Germain was the main option."