Tony Cascarino has branded Arsenal’s transfer deadline day activity as ‘embarrassing’ following their failed pursuit of Thomas Lemar.
The Gunners had a £92million bid accepted for the Monaco forward after sanctioning the sale of Alexis Sanchez to Manchester City in a £60million deal.
But Arsene Wenger was left red faced after Lemar turned down a move to the Emirates Stadium which saw the club halt Sanchez’s move to City.
Lemar’s decision means Sanchez will be able to negotiate a free transfer in the January transfer window ahead of a potentially big pay day for the Chilean international.
And Cascarino believes Arsenal will regret their tactic of waiting until the final day of the transfer window to carry out their business.
“If you look at the Sanchez deal with Lemar and how it all came about – it’s incredible,” Cascarino told the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast show.
“Going after a player so late in the day when he’s on international duty. Could you not have agreed the Sanchez deal with City for £50million two weeks ago when the offer was on the table?
“And instead of offering £92million for Lemar, you could have probably got it over the line.
“That type of thing makes it look embarrassing for Arsenal.”
Sanchez and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – who has since departed for Liverpool in a £40million transfer – were heavily criticised for their performances in Arsenal’s 4-0 defeat to Liverpool last weekend.
Sanchez looked to have sealed his anticipated exit from the Emirates Stadium after Manchester City had a £60million accepted on Thursday evening.
But despite seeing his move come to nothing, Cascarino does not expect Sanchez to dwell on his disappointment for too long.
“He’s still in the shop window being in the last year of his contract.
“Arsenal fans will demand a lot of Sanchez and he’s always had a fantastic attitude. I can’t believe he’d be a player to down tools and say: ‘I haven’t got my way – I’m not going to do anything for the next six months’.
“What happened at Liverpool was a one off – not in the performance – but in the attitude of some of the players that played that day.
“Because that was really the first time you could point the finger at Sanchez and ask: ‘did you do enough?’ But for 99.9 of his games for Arsenal he has [done enough].”