Arsenal eyeing swoop for Lyon’s French Under-21 ace Houssem Aouar
Gunners have been tracking the midfielder this season and reports in France claim Arsene Wenger sent scouts to watch him in tonight's Ligue 1 clash with Toulouse
ARSENAL are on the trail of Lyon midfield sensation Houssem Aouar.
The France Under-21 international has won rave reviews since making his senior debut in February, attracting interest from Barcelona.
Aouar has scored four goals in 18 games for his hometown club this season, including one in their 3-0 Europa League win over Everton last month.
The academy product has been dubbed one of the most exciting talents in French football this year.
And according to reports in France, Gunners boss Arsene Wenger has sent a spy to check on him in Lyon's Ligue 1 game at Toulouse tonight.
Under contract until 2020, Aouar is mainly a central midfielder. However the versatile teenager can also operate on the left wing.
He has played a key role in helping Lyon into Ligue 1's top three alongside big-spending moneybags Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco.
And he could now follow in the footsteps of Alexandre Lacazette, who swapped Lyon for Arsenal during the summer in a club record £46.5million deal.
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Capped at Under-17 and -21 levels by France, Aouar possesses dual Algerian nationality through his parents.
The north African country's football chiefs hope to persuade him to switch allegiance and play for the Desert Foxes senior side.
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Gunners boss Wenger knows he is likely to have to bring in a fresh crop of talent to his squad over the coming months.
Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez both look likely to be leaving next summer when their exisiting contracts run out.
Theo Walcott, Olivier Giroud and Jack Wilshere are other players who's long-term futures at the Emirates are in doubt.
But few bosses know the market for emerging young French talent Wenger, who has in the past picked up the likes of Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira and Emmanuel Petit from his home nation.