Arsenal and Liverpool target Thomas Lemar would have joined EITHER club, reveals Monaco chief
Vadim Vasilyev claims the France winger was a whisker away from joining the Premier League this summer
THOMAS LEMAR was happy to join both Arsenal AND Liverpool, according to Monaco's vice-president.
Arsene Wenger confirmed he made a £91million bid to land the winger this summer.
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And Jurgen Klopp's Reds failed with an £82m offer.
Monaco chief Vadim Vasilyev revealed: "It was not easy. Thomas wanted to go to Arsenal and to Liverpool, but we had discussions and we took a communal decision so that he could stay here.
"He is a very important player for us. We could not have sold him, it would have affected the entire team and the individuals."
Monaco's star-studded squad was raided of Kylian Mbappe, Bernardo Silva, Benjamin Mendy and Tiemoue Bakayoko this summer.
The Ligue 1 champions have spent well on the likes of Keita Balde, Youri Tielemans and Stevan Jovetic but must allow the players time to gel.
Wenger, meanwhile, is still eyeing a January deal for Lemar, 21, who scored twice for France against Holland on Thursday.
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He said: "Yes. I think he's a player who has an enormous availability - he's always available on the pitch.
"It's when you realise that he's always ready to receive the ball, and he's a very complete, balanced player who can defend.
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"You could see on the goal he scored that he is concerned with quality of the action.
"He didn't focus on power, he focused on quality, so his action becomes a pure one, because he's relaxed and at the same time focused on the technical gesture."
