Arsenal 'make contact' to sign surprise £35m star immediately before Aston Villa clash

Arsenal have made an approach to sign a £35 million-rated winger ahead of their Premier League clash against Aston Villa.

The Gunners take on Unai Emery's side at Villa Park on Monday night, with the game kicking off at 8pm.

Tuesday is transfer deadline day, with Premier League clubs scrambling to complete their final pieces of business before the initial cut-off point of 11pm.

Arsenal are no different, with a forward still on the agenda in the closing hours of the window.

Their top target is Atletico Madrid star Julian Alvarez, who was left out of the Spanish side's squad for their most recent La Liga clash by manager Diego Simeone.

But the Argentine reportedly does not want to join Arsenal and would prefer to move to Barcelona, though Atletico are flatly refusing to do any business with the reigning La Liga champions.

The Guardian report that the Gunners are still hopeful of persuading Alvarez to change his mind, though it is noted that he personally told Arteta that he only wanted Barcelona in a phone call last week.

Arsenal make move to sign winger in last-minute deal

Alternative forward options are being sought, though the Gunners did not enter the race to sign PSG winger Bradley Barcola, who has now joined Liverpool in a deal worth £123 million.

Instead, according to RMC Sport's Fabrice Hawkins, their forward search has taken them as far as Lyon and their highly-rated young winger Malick Fofana.

The 21-year-old, who is a Belgium international, only made 16 appearances in all competitions for Paulo Fonseca's side last season, though missed nearly six months of action due to an ankle injury.

In the previous 2024/25 season, he netted 11 goals in all competitions, including six in the Europa League.

It is reported that Arsenal have made contact with Lyon over signing Fofana, who scored in his side's 2-0 win over Toulouse in Ligue 1 earlier this month, and that personal terms 'should not be a problem' as the winger wants to sign for the Gunners.

Malick Fofana is one of Ligue 1's brightest talents (Image: Getty)

Hawkins adds that Lyon are 'holding out' for around €40 million (£34.2m) to sell the winger, who was briefly linked with a move to the Emirates Stadium last summer.

Lyon's position may have been weakened somewhat by their failure to qualify for this season's Champions League. They lost 3-2 on aggregate to Turkish giants Fenerbahce in the final qualifying round last week.

The potential deal for Fofana draws some comparisons to the one completed for Christos Tzolis, who signed from Club Brugge earlier this summer for a similar fee of £34 million.

The Greece international has started his Arsenal career superbly, contributing two assists in the Gunners' 3-0 Community Shield win over Manchester City before putting in a starring display during their opening 3-0 Premier League win over newly-promoted Coventry.