The player in question is Arthur Melo of Juventus. Arsenal were heavily linked with a move for the midfielder back in January and last summer, but no deal came to pass.
The Gunners’ links to the Brazilian have since re-emerged in the last few days, but the club now appear to have been dealt a blow by the player.
With Juventus bringing in Paul Pogba this summer, the future of Arthur remains up in the air as he only started 11 games last season, so the addition of Pogba is likely to see him start even fewer matches next term.
So, this suggests that the player could be open to a transfer this summer in order to secure more regular first-team football.
However, Calciomercato claim that Arthur would prefer a return to Barcelona this summer if he was to leave Juventus, rather than sign for Arsenal.
Arthur was first brought to Europe in 2018 by Barcelona, who spent close to £28m on the midfielder.
Barcelona now also have a plethora of young, promising central midfielders on their books including Pedri and Gavi, suggesting there would be little room for Arthur anyway.
However, it appears that no matter how little game time he may receive at Barca, he would prefer to return there over joining Arsenal anyway.
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