Mahrez not impressed with Arsenal’s style of play

LONDON: Riyad Mahrez’s transfer to Arsenal from Leicester is far from completed, with reports in France claiming that the Algerian ace is not motivated by a big-money move.

A report in France Football claims that Mahrez is not motivated by a lucrative transfer, and is more enamoured by the thought of playing for a team with an established style of play.

Attacker Mahrez is given a free role at Leicester on the wing, in which he performed so well last season for Claudio Ranieri’s English Premier League champions, who were an incredible 5,000-1 to win the title.

Mahrez scored 17 goals and made 11 assists as he was crowned Professional Footballers’ Association Player of the Year.

Ranieri spoke about the Gunners interest in the French-born winger this past weekend, saying that he is confident the 25-year-old will stay with Foxes because he is “an intelligent man”.

The Italian manager said: “I speak often with him and say ‘stay with us it’s much better for your future’, I think he is an intelligent man and he will stay.

“We support him very well, this is important, when you change teams maybe you don’t find team-mates who help you at the same level.”

Leicester have already lost N’Golo Kante to Chelsea, but did keep hold of top-scorer Jamie Vardy, who rejected a move to Arsenal to sign a new four-year contract with Leicester because of concerns he had over the Gunners’ style of play. — The Sun, London