Arsenal hold talks to sign Malang Sarr, 21, on free transfer from Nice but face missing out after leaving swoop late

ARSENAL face missing out on target Malang Sarr because they delayed making their move to sign him this summer.

The Gunners have approached the representatives of the France Under-21 international to see if he would be interested in making the move to Emirates Stadium.

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But Sarr, 21, has already been sounded out by clubs in Italy and Germany about a free transfer deal and it is understood the Arsenal interest has come too late.

Torino have already offered the Nice star a long-term contract and the chance to play regular football in Serie A.

But options in the Bundesliga are also open to him and it is believed he is more likely to move there, seeing it as the best way to continue his development as a player.

Arsenal have been unable to make firm transfer market decisions while they wait to discover whether they will be playing in Europe next season.

That has seen others steal a march in the pursuit of Sarr, who is regarded as one of the best young central defenders to recently emerge in France.

The youngster already has over 100 league appearances having broken into the Nice setup aged 17.

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However it became clear in recent months that he wanted to look elsewhere despite his side qualifying for next season's Europa League.

He told in April: "For the moment, I have made the decision to do not extend with Nice.

"And we will see how the season will end and from there, I will make my decisions but I would like to finish the season with OGC Nice and then see what will happen."