Arsenal thought they'd be able to land prominent midfielder Clement Grenier from Lyon earlier this week but after the club's initial offer was denied, the Gunners will now go back to the drawing board.
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As the International Business Times reports, Arsenal's bid of €10 million was rejected by the Ligue 1 squad. Notorious manager Arsene Wenger has expressed interest toward acquiring the rising talent in year's past and despite a strong push to obtain another midfield talent, Wenger's efforts weren't enough to get Lyon to budge.
With 7 goals in 59 appearances since joining Lyon's top club in 2009 Grenier - who is also a member of the French national team - is highly coveted by his current team as well, the biggest and most obvious reason as to why they're not eager to part ways with the 22-year-old. One year remains on the attacking midfielder's contract and as ESPN notes, Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas would love nothing more than to see the contract situation play out favorably for both parties.
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I hope he's going to soon find a solution with the club and he'll continue to grow here, because the environment is favorable for that. He told me his priority is to remain with the club if we qualified for the Champions League.
We'll see what we can do. If we have to make an effort and go above the annual revenue of €1 million that will be taxed at 75% according to a government proposal, we'll make the players who have come through our youth academy a priority.
Though the club is currently batting something of a financial crisis, Aulas indicated that the price for Grenier will be a whopping €37 but also noted that the internal financial difficulties won't interrupt any potential discussions.
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Even though the recent attempt to acquire Grenier was denied, Arsenal still has a need for an attacking midfielder. As they continue to search the market and speak with teams about various player availability, the Gunners will begin searches to upgrade the defensive midfield and central striker positions.
Santi Cazorla recently won the player of the season for Arsenal and although strong play has come from Thomas Vermaelen and Per Mertesacker on the defensive side, any upgrades will certainly benefit Arsenal as they look to become serious contenders heading into the 2013-2014 season.
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