Ousmane Dembele has laughed off the suggestion that he might move to Arsenal in a late transfer deal, insisting he’s staying at Barcelona this summer.
With a couple of days to go until the Premier League transfer deadline day, the Dembele-to-Arsenal rumours finally started to get going in a serious way, after no one took them seriously for most of the summer. Reports in Spain suggested Arsenal were trying to secure a loan deal with an obligation to buy, to avoid having to pay the full fee up front.
That seemed realistic, and got Arsenal fans excited, but Dembele has now brought their hopes crashing back down to earth. In an online live stream he insisted he’s staying with Barcelona for next season.
“I’m staying at Barca, I’m ready to play the Super Cup,” Dembele said. “Me at Arsenal?”
He then proceeded to laugh at the idea. That’s about as conclusive a denial as we’re going to get, so it’s time to put this rumour to bed once and for all.
Dembele played 23 games for Barcelona in 2017/18, scoring four goals and assisting eight. His season was disrupted by injury, and he’ll hope next year will represent an improvement in terms of his fitness and game time.
With Malcom joining from Bordeaux, Dembele has competition for places, but with the way he performed for France at the World Cup he shouldn’t have any trouble getting chances now.