I don't understand why it's so hard to believe this could happen if we really want him at the club.
- Alexis has one year left on his contract which means he holds all the cards even if Arsenal prefers to sell him abroad.
- If Alexis wants to come to City all he has to do is notify his club, if they say no, he will simply play until the end of his contract. Now do you really think Arsenal will allow this to happen? The only thing they care about is money and they will not pass the opportunity to get 40m or more for him rather than lose him for free.
- Now let's say Arsenal gets greedy and they try to charge more than the player is worth, all City needs to do is say thanks but no thanks, we will wait until he finishes his contract. That gives us (or any other club) leverage to keep the price down.
- The down side is having to compete with other clubs ie. Bayern, Chelsea or PSG but that is Alexis decision as he holds all the cards and he wants out.
Alexis holds all the cards either way, if he wants to leave now, he can buy himself out of his contract for about £10M (assuming he's on £200k a week), and make that £10M plus a handsome profit in a sign on fee. Arsenal aren't in a position to dictate anything. I should be an agent as his one is missing a trick here :P