Transfer Centre

Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas: 'Yoann Gourcuff wanted Arsenal move'

By Liam Power, Reporter | 13 August 2013

Lyon president: 'Gourcuff wanted Arsenal move'

Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas thinks that Yoann Gourcuff would take a significant pay cut if Arsenal showed interest in his signature.

Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas has declared that Yoann Gourcuff would be willing to take a pay cut if Arsenal came calling this summer.

Gourcuff has been persistently linked with the Gunners for more than two seasons, with Arsene Wenger also reportedly interested in his Lyon teammate Clement Grenier.

Aulas believes that Gourcuff would accept a vastly reduced salary to be considered by Arsenal, but refused to be drawn on whether the Premier League giants had been in touch.

He told L'Equipe: "Can you see us paying part of his salary for him to play against us with another French club? We've never considered that and it would even more stupid now than it was a fortnight ago.

"All that I know, if I understood correctly, is that he was ready to lower his salary to go to Arsenal but that's not the same thing."

The 27-year-old starred in Lyon's win over Nice last weekend, scoring a free kick and laying on two further goals as Remi Garde's side triumphed 4-0 in their Ligue 1 opener.