Pep Guardiola is ready to intensify Manchester City's pursuit of Lyon midfielder Houssem Aouar at the expense of former pal Mikel Arteta, claims The Daily Mirror.
Lyon are ready to cash in on Aouar but have yet to receive any serious offers despite interest from Arsenal manager Arteta.
Aouar emerged as one of the best players in the Champions League last season and Arsenal have already seen an offer turned down for the France Under-21 international.
Arsenal tried to include French midfielder Matteo Guendouzi as part of their proposed offer in an attempt to reduce Aouar's asking price but Lyon rejected immediately.
The Gunners currently do not have the funds to match Lyon's reported €60m asking price and are now at risk of missing out on his signature altogether with City keen.
Guardiola wasn't planning on signing a midfielder to replace David Silva, instead placing greater faith in rising star Phil Foden, but after missing out on Lionel Messi he may now feel another creative player is required to reclaim their Premier League title.
Upamecano - 🥇 Best #UCL tackle success rate (92.6%)
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) August 27, 2020
Camavinga - 🥈 Second most tackles per game in Europe's top five leagues last season (4.2)
Aouar - 🥉 Third most dribbles per game (4.4) in #UCL behind Messi and Neymar https://t.co/irJDCZNKvN pic.twitter.com/QBShykX8eZ
City have already signed Nathan Ake and Ferran Torres this summer but are closing in on Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly after finishing 18 points behind Liverpool in the league last season.
Aouar played a direct hand in seven league goals last season but really excelled in Lyon's Champions League run to the last four with five goal contributions in eight games.
Moreover, only Messi and Neymar averaged more dribbles per game than Aouar (4.4) in the Champions League last term.
