That replacement is widely believed to be Lyon's Mahmouda Diarra. However, as evident from the Essien saga – Lyon are difficult to deal with. And that was confirmed yesterday when Lyon offered Diarra a new contract doubling his current salary.
According to the Daily Mail, Arsenal believed they could get Diarra for around £3m because of a release clause in his contract which would facilitate a move to any club willing to double his £10,000-a-week salary. This has become more difficult – but not impossible. Wenger and Houllier are friends, which helps.
