Riyad Mahrez to Arsenal: Gunners to come back in for Leicester City winger

Arsenal are back in for Leicester City star Riyad Mahrez, according to Algerian outlet Le Buteur.

Mahrez has retained his interest in a move to a bigger club since his failed transfer in the summer, and the Gunners top the list of the interested parties. Arsene Wenger’s side have been linked with the Algerian for a couple of seasons now, but they’ve never made any official approach for the winger.

However, with Alexis Sanchez now headed towards the exit door in January, probably to Manchester City, Arsenal are eyeing a number of replacements, with Riyad Mahrez currently being Arsene Wenger’s first choice. It is understood that the 26-year old was a target for Wenger in the summer, but since Arsenal managed to keep hold of Alexis, no offer was made for the Leicester City winger.

In fact, among all of the linked clubs, AS Roma were the only ones to have officially approached the 2015/16 champions for Mahrez’s services. The Serie A giants made as many as four bids for the Algeria international, but all of them were rejected as Leicester City demanded something close to £50 million. Roma’s highest bid is said to have been around £38 million.

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It is also understood that Leicester City are still not prepared to let go of Riyad Mahrez – not until they’ve signed a top-class replacement anyway – with the management ready to demand as high a fee as is possible.

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The Foxes’ stubborn approach means that we may well see another ugly transfer saga surrounding Riyad Mahrez.