Arsenal appear to be out of the running for Mattijs de Ligt, as the likes of Juventus and Barcelona lead the chase for the young defender.

Earlier in the year, fans started to get excited about the possibility of an Arsenal move for de Ligt after journalist Kike Marin reported that they were one of the clubs in for him. At the time, Marin’s record for Arsenal news was looking pretty good, after he correctly called the transfers of Aubameyang and Leno fairly early on.

https://twitter.com/Kike_Marin_/status/994120810590887936?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E994120810590887936&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fdailycannon.com%2F2018%2F05%2Farsenal-in-for-matthijs-de-ligt-after-he-requests-summer-transfer%2F

Marin wasn’t the only one to link Arsenal to a transfer either, with Mundo Deportivo adding that the Gunners were one of a few teams to make contact with de Ligt’s agent.

Since then, though, the rumour has gone cold. There’s still plenty of hype around the 19-year-old Ajax defender, but not when it comes to Arsenal.

Goal write that Juventus have joined Barcelona and Manchester City in the race for the defender. Calciomercato report that the Italian champions are in pole position for a €60m (£53m) move ahead of Barcelona, Manchester United and PSG. ESPN sources claim Barcelona are interested in signing the defender.

None of them even give Arsenal a mention. It seems this story is dead, for now at least.