Tottenham Hotspur are apparently very interested in Monaco’s Thomas Lemar, but don’t let that fact trick you into believing that there won’t be other suitors for the tricky winger. L’Equipe is reporting today that, despite apparently putting a cheeky €100m bid on Kylian Mbappe, the Gooners are also now interested in gazumping Spurs for the services of Thomas Lemar.

There’s not much here by way of details. The report just says that Arsenal are casting their evil red gaze upon Lemar, and that the French winger might be tempted by Arsenal over Spurs, despite the lack of Champions League football at the Emirates next season. Juventus is also offhandedly mentioned as a potential suitor.

L’Equipe specifically mentions the fact that several French players have come through Arsenal recently under French manager Arsene Wenger, and “flourished” — and it’s true that Arsenal has traditionally been a solid landing place for French talent recently including Olivier Giroud, Laurent Koscielny, Francis Coquelin, and Matthieu Flamini.

This has the feel more of #narrative than well-sourced reporting. I mean, Arsenal would naturally be linked to a Tottenham target because of course they would, but it does strike home that the transfer window is long and that even without Champions League, Arsenal is (annoyingly) still going to be an attractive target to top talent. If Spurs are indeed interested in Lemar, they’re going to have some competition.