Arsene Wenger reveals his 'phone is red-hot' on transfer deadline day as Arsenal manager chases late deals

Arsenal manager attempts to appease fans over the club's lack of transfers

Arsene Wenger stressed to fans that his phone is 'red-hot' on transfer deadline day (Getty)

Arsene Wenger has stressed to Arsenal fans that his “phone is red-hot most of the time” on deadline day, despite unhappy supporters growing increasingly angry at the club’s lack of transfer business compared to their rivals.

Arsenal are weighing up the possibility of selling Alexis Sanchez after Manchester City made a second £60m offer on deadline day, a bid that is understood to have renewed their interest in Monaco forward Thomas Lemar.

Up until now, Arsenal have signed just two players this summer, with the £52m addition of Alexandre Lacazette preceding the free transfer of Sead Kolasinac.

In what appeared to be an effort to try an appease fans who were not best pleased with how the club was allowing so many players to leave without replacements coming in – with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain the latest to depart for £40m on Thursday – Wenger spoke at length about how he goes to work on deadline day.

“I wake up very early every day, transfer deadline day or not,” Wenger told www.arsenal.com. “You’re on alert and you look around Europe. The phone is red-hot most of the time.

“It depends whether you’re a buyer or a seller, or whether you’re both. If you’re a buyer, you have to put pressure on a club very early because you know you need some time for administration, for regulations, to get approval from the Premier League, to finalise their contracts.

“Usually, your lawyers inside the club are on alert and know they will have a sleepless night. Then there’s a transfer deadline that you have to respect. Usually, it’s not an enjoyable day because it’s a huge pressure on the day.

“When you sell, it’s similar because the club who buys has to make the decision and the player has to agree on the last day. There’s a lot of uncertainty on the day and sometimes that is the most difficult thing.”

The fear for Arsenal fans heading into transfer deadline day was that the club would only be a selling club on the final day of the window, despite letting a number of first-team members leave the club.

Oxlade-Chamberlain joined Gabriel Paulista, Kieran Gibbs and Wojciech Szczesny in leaving the Emirates, while Lucas Perez, Chuba Akpom and Joel Campbell are also heading for deadline day moves. That may not be all, with doubts arising over the futures of Shkodran Mustafi and Jack Wilshere, with the latter linked with a second consecutive loan move.


 Lemar is still wanted by Arsenal 
 (Getty)

However, it was revealed on Thursday afternoon that Arsenal are still active in the market, with their interest in Lemar reignited due to the prospect of selling wantaway Sanchez to Premier League rivals City.