Riyad Mahrez continues to be linked with a move to Arsenal, despite vehement denials from Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri and the player's agent, but speculation or not, one thing is clear – the transfer rumours will not bother the winger who was named the PFA Player of the Year last season.
After news broke out on Saturday that Arsenal had agreed a deal with Mahrez's agent, with a fee of €50million (£42m) being touted, the volleys over if a move has actually been agreed came back and forth, with the Leicester camp firm in their regard that the Algeria international would remain a Foxes player come the end of the summer transfer window.
Ranieri was adamant and confident of keeping Mahrez, who has also been tipped to move to Chelsea, at Leicester, while the player's agent claimed no contact had been made with Arsenal. Reports in the UK suggested Arsenal are yet to make an official offer for the 25-year-old, even if interest is there.
Amidst all the speculation and the will-he-won't-he drama, Mahrez looked unfazed, putting on another masterclass against Celtic in an International Champions Cup match. And Leicester teammate Gray believes that performance shows that the wide man will have no problems dealing with all the transfer speculation that is currently surrounding him.
"There is a lot of speculation around him but he doesn't seem to be bothered by any of that, does he?" Gray was quoted as saying by the Daily Express. "He works hard and he's a Leicester player. We'll just do what he does, train and focus on games.
"He was the Player of the Year and we won the League, so you expect speculation but he is a great professional and concentrates on what he does and contributes to the team, as you saw against Celtic.
"It's not really bothering him."
Arsene Wenger has promised the Arsenal fans that the club will pay big money for a player, provided the right one comes along. The manager said he is in the market for a forward and a defender, and while Mahrez is not the centre-forward that the club desperately needs, he will certainly add more potency to their attacks, something that has been lacking at Arsenal over the last couple of seasons.
With Gonzalo Higuain heading over to Juventus from Napoli, Arsenal's options in the centre-forward department have thinned even further, and while Alexandre Lacazette continues to be an option, it remains to be seen if Wenger is willing to bite the bullet and pay the €50m (£42m) that Lyon are demanding.
Arsenal fans will be in seventh heaven if Wenger ends up completing both deals for a combined €100m, but chances are that the Frenchman will end up signing one forward, at best, be that Mahrez, Lacazette, Julian Draxler, Romelu Lukaku or someone else.
