Arsene Wenger has clearly never read or watched Moneyball, or if he has he's decided that the whole principle is garbage. The Arsenal manager is apparently ready to ditch half his squad for one player.
The basis of Moneyball is a club with less money than their baseballing rivals trying to work out how to replace their best players when they inevitably move to richer clubs. Replacing them directly is impossible so don't do it, replace the sum of their parts.
This summer Everton have gone about their business in Moneyballesque manner. Buying a 25 goal a season striker to replace Romelu Lukaku is almost impossible but Sandro, Wayne Rooney, Davy Klaassen and potentially Gylfi Sigurdsson could do the trick in total.
Moneyball, the story of how Brad Pitt retired from acting in order to win at baseball. Image: Columbia Pictures
Arsene Wenger on the other hand obviously thinks the best way for his Arsenal side to rise from fifth place to title challengers is by dumping the sum of his parts in favour for one player.
According to the Daily Mail the 67 year-old is set to do away with Kieran Gibbs, Carl Jenkinson, Calum Chambers, Lucas Perez,, Jack Wilshere Mathieu Debuchy, Olivier Giroud and the already departed Wojciech Szczęsny in order to make the funds to sign Monaco's Thomas Lemar.
Lemar was very impressive for Monaco last season. Image: PA
Monaco won Ligue 1 and got the semi-finals of the Champions League last season and ever since clubs have been trying to gut them with Tiemoue Bakayoko and Bernardo Silva already gone and Benjamin Mendy likely to join them.
There has been interest of other players and the Gunners are desperate to get their hands on Lemar who can play in any central midfield as well as any behind the striker and have offered around £45 million for him so far.
Reports from France suggest they would only consider selling him for £80 million.
One of the problems the north London club seems to face every season is the depth behind the first team once there are inevitable injuries and suspensions but there isn't too much quality in the players up for sale outside of Giroud.
It could be a gamble from Wenger but Lemar s genuinely good enough to help them win the league.
Topics: Thomas Lemar, Arsene Wenger, Arsenal