Arsenal suffer double blow as their bids for Thomas Lemar and Alexandre Lacazette are rejected

Arsenal have suffered a double blow in their ongoing pursuit of signing AS Monaco attacker Thomas Lemar and Lyon striker Alexandre Lacazette after both the clubs rejected the Gunners' approach.

According to Sky Sports, the France international duo are summer transfer targets for the north London club manager Arsene Wenger. Arsenal boss is keen on strengthening his side's attack for the new campaign.

The 26-year-old French striker's form has seen him attract interest from the top clubs across Europe. Apart from Arsenal, their league rivals Manchester United are reportedly believed to be interested in signing him.

However, Jose Mourinho's priority lies in signing Alvaro Morata from Real Madrid to strengthen the Red Devils' attack. Lacazette was close to joining Real's local rivals Atletico Madrid this summer.

His move to the Spanish capital club collapsed after the Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld their transfer ban. This means that Ateltico cannot register players in the summer transfer window. Lacazette has already expressed his desire to play in the Champions League, something a move to Arsenal cannot help him fulfil that ambition.

Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas admitted that he believes Lacazette will continue with his current employers beyond this summer. Arsenal's bid for the striker, who is valued around £50m ($64.9m) has been rejected by the French outfit.

Wenger's side also saw Monaco turning down Arsenal's bid for Lemar, which was in the region of £30m ($38.9m). It should be seen whether Leonardo Jardim's side will allow the attacker leave the club this summer.

The Ligue 1 champions have already lost Bernardo Silva to Manchester City and are set to allow Tiemoue Bakayoko join Chelsea. In addition to this, Fabinho and Kylian Mbappe, along with Lemar are attracting interest from the top clubs across Europe.

Lacazette has scored 37 goals across all competitions for Lyon in the 2016/17 season. Lemar, who can play anywhere across the front three, scored 12 goals and registered 14 assists for Monaco last term.