Arsenal haven’t actually talked to Gabigol

The other day, we wrote a Thing about how Arsenal were in hot pursuit, hopefully Dukes of Hazzard-style, of Brazilian wonder youth Gabigol. Well, as with many Things that we write that are related to transfers and their attendant rumors, this one may in fact prove to come to nothing at all, at least if André Østgaard is to be believed on the Twitters:

Who is André Østgard? I don’t really know. But this tweet was retweeted by Tim Stillman, who I do know...well, at least I internet-know. By which I mean “read his stuff and trust him”.

Stillman, an Arseblogger, is generally pretty reliable about these things. There is also the matter of Barcelona’s ownership of first refusal rights on Gabigol, Giva, and Victor Andrade, rights which were purchased in 2013 as, depending on whom you believe, either part of the Neymar deal or as a standalone transaction.

So, while it’s obviously too early to say this deal, such as it was, is dead, there’s some evidence that it may not have actually been a deal in the first place, which is what makes transfer season so annoying very much fun.