Houssem Aouar is reportedly back on Arsenal's radar.
Despite constant rumours of a switch to the Emirates Stadium last summer, a deal never materialised and the midfielder remained with Lyon where he went on to make 33 appearances across all competitions, scoring eight and weighing in with four assists.
But with the Ligue 1 side failing to qualify for the Champions League next season, The Sun have claimed that the 22-year-old will be allowed to leave this summer.
In addition, the report states that Arsenal are weighing up a £20m bid for the midfielder and are readying a contract worth £100k-a-week to finally seal Aouar's signature.
Reports of the Gunners reigniting their interest in Aouar should not come as much of a surprise.
This is because in the January window, transfer expert Fabrizio Romano revealed that Arsenal remained 'convinced' Aouar was still the right man to solve their creativity issues.
Furthermore, it was claimed that Mikel Arteta is convinced that Aouar would be the perfect addition to the Gunners' midfield.
"They are still looking for this kind of player, they were also trying for Szoboszlai who then joined Leipzig, but they were trying really for Dominik Szoboszlai," Romano said on the Feather on Football podcast.
"And also Aouar has always been the first target for Arsenal. They love him and they are convinced he would be perfect in their midfield.
"The problem is that Lyon are asking for €60 million (£53.3m) they are having an amazing season, they want to be back in the Champions League, so at the moment with the president of Lyon it’s really hard to negotiate in January for this kind of player."
Amid claims that Lyon have now significantly dropped their asking price for Aouar, it seems this summer will be the best chance for Arsenal to get a deal done.
And Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas appears to have already opened the door for a possible exit.
"The departure of Houssem is not a wish of OL," Aulas admitted at a news conference. "If he wishes to leave, we will try to accompany him, as we have done for many years.
"Afterwards, if the offers do not correspond to what we want, he will stay in Lyon and we will be very happy."
