Arsenal Miss Out on Malick Fofana as Sunderland Secures Transfer

Arsenal’s Deadline Day search for a winger has taken a major hit, with Malick Fofana slipping through their fingers and heading to Sunderland instead.

Mikel Arteta’s side had moved for the Lyon wide man at the start of the week, opening talks with the Ligue 1 club as they looked to bolster their attacking depth on the flanks. Fofana, 21, was firmly on the Gunners’ shortlist, with reports that he even held conversations with Arteta and was keen on a switch to north London.

Then came the stand-off.

Lyon wanted around €40 million. According to Santi Aouna and David Ornstein, Arsenal drew a line there and refused to go that high. That hesitation opened the door for a Premier League rival to pounce.

Sunderland moved decisively. The Wearside club agreed a deal worth €30 million plus add-ons, a package that pushes the total closer to Lyon’s original valuation and was enough to get the French club to sign off. While Arsenal haggled, Sunderland closed.

For Fofana, it marks the end of a summer of Premier League flirting. Crystal Palace had tracked him earlier in the window and were close to an agreement with Lyon, but the winger did not want a move to Selhurst Park. Arsenal looked like the glamorous alternative. Instead, he is now set to fly to the north east for a medical ahead of a shock Deadline Day transfer that leaves the Gunners empty-handed.

The timing stings for Arsenal. They have already allowed Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli to leave this summer, stripping numbers from the left flank. Ethan Nwaneri is also due to undergo a medical at Borussia Dortmund ahead of a loan move, while Christos Tzolis has arrived from Club Brugge to help plug some of the gaps.

Arsenal wanted Fofana to be a headline answer out wide. Sunderland have turned him into their statement signing instead.