After José Mourinho’s reported attempt to lure Mesut Özil to Old Trafford next summer, Arsène Wenger has seemingly prepared a countermeasure. While he has not offered Özil a pay rise, the Arsenal manager is now eyeing a surprise target from Manchester United—winger Jesse Lingard—as a potential response to United’s interest in his playmaker.

In recent months, Arsenal’s two key stars, Özil and Alexis Sánchez, have been locked in a contract standoff, both seeking higher wages. Wenger, however, has been reluctant to break the club’s wage structure. Lingard’s contract with Manchester United is set to expire in the summer—the same timeline as Sánchez and Özil—which may have prompted Wenger to see an opportunity. Earlier in December, United offered Lingard a renewal that would double his current £30,000-per-week salary to £60,000, but the player reportedly wanted more. Wenger’s proposed deal would blow that out of the water, with a staggering £120,000 per week.

Such a salary would make Lingard one of Arsenal’s top earners, trailing only Özil, Sánchez, and Theo Walcott, and surpassing established names like Petr Čech and Santi Cazorla. The Gunners do have history in signing forwards from United—Danny Welbeck being the most notable example—who also enjoyed a strong wage increase upon arrival. However, in this case, many see the pursuit of Lingard less as a strategic signing and more as a retaliatory move. After all, the potential damage to Arsenal from losing Özil far outweighs any impact United would feel from losing Lingard, who remains more of a squad player than a central figure.

Wenger may also be using this interest as a distraction from the deadlock in negotiations with Özil and Sánchez. With both players having only 18 months left on their contracts, time is running out for Arsenal to secure their futures. Failing to resolve these extensions could open the door for rivals to step in—just as Wenger himself is attempting to do with Lingard.

For fans who follow both football and Live Cricket BPL updates, the situation highlights how off-pitch maneuvering can be as tense and strategic as any game on the field. Transfer market mind games often become a battle of pride as much as performance, and Wenger’s move could be a calculated show of defiance. Still, the bigger picture for Arsenal should be keeping their two biggest stars happy, rather than engaging in tit-for-tat transfer drama. In the months ahead, with Live Cricket BPL season and football’s January window running side by side, this saga will be one to watch closely for its twists both in boardrooms and on the pitch.