Arsenal could find themselves still in charge of one David Ospina when the season ends as Napoli look to get out of their obligation to buy the player.

The Colombian has impressed during his time in Naples and proved himself more than an adequate replacement for Alex Meret who suffered a broken arm.

Over Xmas there was talk that Napoli would activate their buy clause in Ospina’s loan contract early to make the deal permanent but now, it seems, they have changed their mind.

“I knew this might happen,” Ospina told Radio Blu. “My current situation is that I am on loan for this season and there’s a clause based on the number of games, so if I play regularly, it’ll become an automatic purchase.

“When the situation doesn’t depend on me, all I can do is wait for the decisions to be made by Napoli. The club had just spent a lot of money on Meret, a young goalkeeper with a great future ahead of him, so I knew that when he came back from injury, this might happen.

“He’s a great ‘keeper, a lovely guy and he’ll make a real name for himself in future.”

Fear not, a return to Arsenal is not on the cards for the 30-year-old who could return to South America.

“I want to continue playing in Europe, although a return to South American football is always a possibility. I am open for a move closer to home.

“For now we have to take advantage of the opportunity in Europe, the illusion of playing for a team in South America will always be there, and, after that, God will put me where I need to be,” he added.

While it’s not clear at this point how many appearances are needed to trigger the obligatory purchase option, Ospina has 17 in all competitions hinting that it could be capped at 20.