Houssem Aouar Happy With Lyon Stay - Real Madrid to Rival Arsenal in Summer

Houssem Aouar has insisted he is the 'opposite of disappointed' after a protracted move to Arsenal failed to materialise in the recent transfer window, with both the Gunners and Real Madrid set to make approaches next summer.

Mikel Arteta's side were heavily linked with a move for the Frenchman throughout the window, seeing a series of bids rejected as Lyon held out for closer to €50m for the playmaker.

With the club's president Jean-Michel Aulas - a notoriously difficult negotiator - setting a deadline to Arsenal, the club couldn't meet their demands and the plug was pulled on the deal.

Speaking after France's 7-1 win over Ukraine, in which he made his international debut, Aouar insisted staying at Lyon was an amicable outcome.

"Of course I asked myself all the necessary questions," he said, via the Daily Mail. "I am in the headspace to have a great season with my club and get back the points that we have lost.

"So of course we are going to try to do the best season and to try to put the team and the club back in its rightful place, at the top of France. Disappointed? I am the opposite. I am at home, in the club that I love, with my friends and my family. 

"So certainly I have all my bearings and it is giving me even more motivation to have a good season and to bring the club back into the top places in France."

While the Gunners are expected to come back for Aouar next summer, so too are Madrid. Zinedine Zidane made contact with the player and his representatives before the window closed, but while they were never in a position to move this year, he's expressed his admiration for his compatriot.

Next summer is set to be a busy window for Los Blancos, with 90min understanding that Zidane has three French internationals on his wishlist. Eduardo Camavinga, Kylian Mbappe and Paul Pogba are all being lined up as potential incomings at the Bernabeu.

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