Arsenal Target Houssem Aouar Frozen Out Of Lyon Squad

Houssem Aouar has very quickly become an unpopular figure in the Lyon ranks.

The midfielder was dropped from the squad about to take on Reims this weekend in Ligue 1.

Aouar was left on the bench in last week’s 1-0 win over Angers. After the game, he refused to warm down with his teammates and subsequently got punished for it.

L’Equipe understands that sporting director Juninho and director of football Vincent Ponsot, with the consent of president Jean-Michel Aulas took the initiative to discipline Aouar.

Aouar claimed that he did not want to participate in the half-hour session due to the condition of the pitch. He was seen running back into the dressing minutes before the final whistle had even been blown. The midfielder refused to come out after that and this got on the nerves of the coaches.

Aouar could find it difficult to fight his way back into the squad but tensions seem to be boiling over in France. Arsenal were heavily tipped to sign him off last summer but could not meet Lyon’s valuation. Instead, they signed Thomas Partey and kept their tabs of Aouar for a future opportunity.

That opportunity might be ringing in sooner than they expected. As the January window closes in, Lyon might agree to sell Aouar at a discounted price.