Ranieri Hints Riyad Mahrez Is Set To Leave Leicester To Arsenal Or Maybe Chelsea?

Leicester City manager has until today always sounded very confident that Riyad Mahrez will stay with the Foxes for at least one more year, despite reports of the Algerian having agreed personal terms with Arsenal.

But if quotes attributed to the Italian by Sky Sports (they surely won't make up the quotations) are anything to go by, then Ranieri isn't as confident anymore about keeping the North African at Leicester City as he was last week, which is good news for Arsenal fans.

“I think he is an intelligent man and he will stay,”

“He improves more if he stays with us for another year, maybe next year he can think about another solution. If he goes for a lot of money, everybody will be expecting something special. He can do something special, but with us.”

Ranieri is practically admitting that there is a real chance Mahrez will leave the Foxes, if a club puts in a big money bid for him. This will be music to Arsenal fans' ears. The sudden change in Ranieri's confidence level is, however, interesting.

What has changed in the last couple of days? Could it be Mahrez has made it clear he wants to leave for a bigger club? It could be the case, especially with reports claiming he has rejected Leicester City's offer of a new contract.

Mahrez signing for Arsenal will make a lot of sense and I sincerely believe there is a real chance of it happening. Mahrez isn't deluded; he knows Arsenal are bigger and better than Leicester City. Unlike the fans of the Foxes, who on the back of a one-a-million title win believe their club have all of a sudden become better than Arsenal, Mahrez must surely be tempted by a club the size of the Gunners.

Arsenal might have not won the title for a while but, realistically, they have a better chance of winning the title next season than Leicester City, despite the fact that the Foxes are the defending champions. It is a fact that even the staunchest Leicester City fans should agree with and a fact that Ranieri agrees with. Hence, he has confirmed he will be happy if his team finishes in the top 10 next season. Surely, a top-ten finish will not match Mahrez's more lofty ambitions.

Mahrez's signing, if it happens (or when it happens), will mean we will see less of Theo Walcott on the right wing next season. With Mahrez and a centre back, I personally will be happy, even if we don't sign a striker. Mahrez will score a lot of goals and, with Sanchez still very much on board, it will make up for the lack of a world class striker.

However, with Chelsea still reportedly interested in signing the Algerian, Arsenal need to move very quickly if they do not want to be beaten to the current PFA Player of the Year award winner's signature.

Knowing Wenger, if Chelsea's interest in Mahrez is real, the Blues are likely to win the race as they are never afraid to spend money to get what they need, unlike Wenger who is known to be a world-class ditherer.