According to TransferMarketWeb, Lorient and Portuguese left-back Raphael Guerreiro is attracting interest from Arsenal and Liverpool after impressing in Ligue 1 with Lorient .
Guerreiro had earlier rejected a move to Ligue 1 four consecutive champions PSG last summer , preferring to remain in Lorient for another season and learn the ropes. This is after PSG signed young sensation Lucas Digne from Lille and left him to rot on the bench in his debut season (2014/2015 season), before the talented left-back went on loan to A.S Roma this season to revive his career. The Portuguese said, “ There were contacts between the presidents (Lorient and PSG ) and my agent last summer . But I made it clear that it was not an option that interested me. For the good of my career, I figured that it would be better to have a complete season with Lorient rather than to be a substitute at PSG . Even if you do progress when you are in contact with great players. I gave playing time greater importance”, he concluded .
Guerreiro was born in France to a Portuguese father and French mother and is aged 22. He graduated from SM Caen academy and moved to Lorient in 2013. The defender decided to play for Portugal rather than France even when he could speak very little Portuguese and has gone on to earn five caps for the Portuguese national team. In three years in Lorient, he has played 95 times in the league, scoring an impressive 10 goals for a defender. This season, the Portuguese has made 30 Ligue 1 appearances scoring three goals and registering two assists. The left-back loves to cut inside and rarely dives into tackles and has strong ball interception technique, however he has to improve on his aerial duels and tackling to make a success of his time in the more physical English Premier League.
Arsene Wenger is reported to be in advanced talks to sign him considering the inconsistent form of Kieran Gibbs and the fact that first choice left-back Nacho Monreal is already in his 30’s and at such might experience a decline. Wenger knows that he needs a young replacement for both players as the case with Hector Bellerin who displaced Mathieu Debuchy for the right-back position .
Guerreiro is young, has potential to grow and won’t come at a high price which ticks all the boxes of Arsene Wenger in his transfer market requirements.
Arsenal fans therefore cannot wait for the summer to see who their club signs to finally win their first Premier League for the past 13 years in 2017.
