Arsenal's £45m deal for Monaco's Thomas Lemar 'will get done', says Perry Groves

Arsenal will complete a deal for Monaco attacker Thomas Lemar and should attempt to sign Sevilla midfielder Steven N'Zonzi, according to former Gunners favourite Perry Groves.

The record 13-time FA Cup winners have been pursuing a move for Lemar for the majority of the transfer window and are believed to have had several bids for the France international rejected by Monaco, who have seen a number of star players leave the principality this summer.

Groves, who enjoyed six successful seasons at Arsenal, is exceedingly confident that his former club will eventually clinch a deal for Lemar and thinks the 21-year-old will go some way to helping the Gunners mount a sustained title challenge, though he still believes they are couple of players short of being seen as true contenders.

"I think the [Thomas] Lemar deal will get done, it's coming down to how much," Groves told Bwin. "I'd like to think we're in the position that if they want £45million, then we go and pay it and send the right message to the player that we want you. As mentioned, I still think we're two or three players away from winning the title."

Along with Lemar, Arsenal have been linked with another Ligue 1 breakout star in Jean-Michel Seri, whose future may depend on whether OGC Nice qualify for the group stages of the Champions League.

Arsenal's chances of signing Seri, who reportedly has a €40m release clause in his contract with Nice, were bolstered by the French outfit's president Jean-Pierre Rivère, who revealed that they are planning to sell a couple of players during what's left of the transfer window. But Groves wants his former side to peruse Sevilla's N'Zonzi, who scored against the Gunners in the Emirates Cup last weekend.

"I've been a massive fan of Steven N'Zonzi," Groves added. "I think he could do a real job in the centre of that midfield for us, adding the steel he did at Stoke City and Blackburn Rovers. He's a destroyer."