It appears Deadline Day will remain a quiet affair for Arsenal, despite the brief flurry of speculation set off this morning regarding a late push for Ousmane Dembele, the preferred pipe dream of many Arsenal fans this summer. Spanish journalist Kike Marin, whose credibility is shaky, tweeted this morning that Arsenal submitted a €100 million bid for the Barcelona winger. Other less than reliable sources, like the Mirror, reported similar advances by the Gunners.
David Ornstein of the BBC, by far the most trusted source for Arsenal news, refuted Marin’s claim that Arsenal had made any offer at all, despite the club’s interest in the 21-year old World Cup winner (Marin did tweet an update a few hours after his original tweet, saying what’s been widely reported the last few days, that Dembele doesn’t want to leave Barcelona).
Reports of Arsenal bid for Barcelona forward Ousmane Dembele false. As previously reported incoming business completed a month ago. Were open to exceptional deal if chance arose (admire & have links to Dembele) but never realistic. #AFC optimistic on Ramsey contract but not close
— David Ornstein (@bbcsport_david) August 9, 2018
The most interesting nugget of information in that tweet, however, comes from the last sentence. Aaron Ramsey, who was back in training today after suffering a small muscular injury a week ago, will in fact enter the season with just one year left on his contract, despite a summer of negotiations with the club. Though all signs thus far seemingly point to an extension, Arsenal fans shouldn’t rest easy until Ramsey finally puts pen to paper.