Lyon president Jean-Michael Aulas insists that Nabil Fekir will not be leaving the club.

The French attacking midfielder has been heavily linked with Arsenal recently, with the Daily Star “exclusively” revealing that a £60m deal was close.

However, Lyon’s president, Jean-Michael Aulas, has told SFR Sport that his club’s new star isn’t going anywhere.

Asked if Fekir would be staying at Lyon, Aulas said: “Of course, and nothing says he’ll leave at the end of the season.

“He’s under contract, he’s happy in Lyon. He’s enjoying a period of success football-wise, but also in terms of management as he’s captain of an Olympique Lyonnais that has been able to get itself back on track, and it’s also thanks to him.”

It should be noted that Aulas said similar things when Arsenal were negotiating a deal for Alexandre Lacazette.

He tends to be very vocal when his players are linked with other clubs. Hence, why him saying Fekir is not for sale isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Fekir has been in excellent form this season, with 12 goals in 15 appearances in all competitions.

The attacker has returned to his best form after he was sidelined by a cruciate ligament injury during the 2015/16 season.

Arsenal’s interest goes back to 2014, when Fekir was just emerging as a top talent.

During his time at Lyon, he formed an excellent partnership with Lacazette. Therefore, reuniting the pair at Arsenal makes a lot of sense, given that both Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil could soon leave the club.

However, it’s clear that Arsenal won’t be getting him without some resistance from Lyon.

This will likely be another lengthy and expensive transfer saga.