Arsenal have responded to the reports from Germany that claimed they had approached Thomas Tuchel to take over from Arsene Wenger, saying they are ‘not true’.

The reports started to surface on Sunday with a report in Bild, but this was quickly superseded by a consolidated set of reports across numerous papers claiming Wenger was set to sign a new deal.

Sky Sports got in touch with Arsenal about the rumours and were told, simply, that they are ‘not true’.

I don’t think this surprises anyone.

Until the board knows what Wenger is doing, they seem absolutely paralysed. In fact, I wouldn’t even be confident they will unfreeze when he does make a decision.

At this rate, any new deal Wenger signs could be more about him getting the club ready for life without him than anything else because the board certainly don’t seem able to do it.

Still banging the ‘mutual decision’ line, the club also told Sky Sports that a decision on Wenger’s future will be “a mutual decision, which will be communicated in the right way at the right time”.