Lyon have stepped up their negotiating stance regarding Arsenal's transfer pursuit of Houssem Aouar by declaring that any players who have not left the club by Friday will not be sold.
Standard Sport understands that Arsenal have been tracking Lyon captain Aouar and Atletico Madrid midfielder Thomas Partey all summer, though a move for the former is now more likely.
With a new midfielder a priority for Mikel Arteta, Arsenal failed last week with an opening offer for the 22-year-old, believed to be just over £30million.
However, Lyon are expecting the Gunners to return with a fresh approach and are understood to want closer to £50m - and the French club's president, Jean-Michel Aulas, has a reputation as a tough negotiator.
Speaking to French TV on Monday, Aulas imposed a deadline on negotiations by telling Telefoot: "[On Friday], players who have not left will not leave."
Aouar is regarded as one of the best young talents in Europe and Arsenal captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has backed the Gunners’ pursuit of him.
“Of course, of course, we are in favour of it,” he told French broadcast Canal+. “I’m not going to hide it – even if he’s a Lyon player.”
