There have been a lot of players linked with a move to Arsenal this summer, some more than others and one of those players was Barcelona defender Samuel Umtiti, however, it is now being reported that he will refuse to leave the Spanish Champions this summer.
It had been thought that the France international would be sold regardless of whether Barca signed their number one defensive target Ajax defender Matthijs de Ligt and that is still very much the intention of the Catalans but Umtiti basically does not care, he simply is refusing to budge.
That is a blow for Emery if the reports of his interest are to be believed. According to the report, he had the 26-year-old as his prefered choice to strengthen the soft Arsenal back line.
Umtiti has a contract at the Nou Camp until 2023 and has made it clear to the club that he will stay and fight for his place no matter who they sign.
That said, the reports do claim that Barcelona will continue to do everything within their power to get the player off their books.
Like every other club in Europe, well, maybe apart from Manchester City, they have to abide by financial fair play rules and need to sell to comply if they spend any significant amount of money this summer.
Emery is still targeting alternatives to Umtiti with Joachim Andersen and Djene Dakonam on his shopping list so it is far from being the end of the world but it will be a blow regardless.
YOU CAN DISCUSS THIS ARTICLE DIRECTLY IN OUR FORUM HERE