FC Barcelona have received offers from multiple clubs for Denis Suarez, but he’s only interested in joining Arsenal, according to reports in Spain.

The official reason for Suarez’s absence in Wednesday night’s Copa Del Rey clash with Sevilla was because of Kevin-Prince Boateng receiving international clearance and replacing him at the last minute. However, Sport report that the real reason is to put pressure on Suarez to make a decision.

Barcelona reportedly have multiple offers for the 25-year-old to leave and they just want him to accept one of them. The Spaniard is only interested in joining Arsenal though, and the offer from North London comes with an extra complication.

Initially, Barcelona were willing to negotiate the permanent exit of Suarez in the January window, but Arsenal couldn’t afford to pay a transfer fee. The La Liga club suggested a loan with a compulsory purchase clause this summer, but Arsenal preferred a loan with an option-to-buy, not an obligation.

Eventually, Barcelona decided on a compromise, whereby they would sanction the loan with an option-to-buy, but only if Suarez signed a contract extension with them first. That way, if Arsenal ended up not using their purchase option, Suarez would still have good value in the summer market.

The problem was that Suarez was unwilling to sign the extension. Presumably, he’s worried that he could end up struggling with Arsenal, returning to Barcelona with a two-year contract and wasting another season or two sitting in the reserves.

According to Sport, Suarez’s only priority in this whole situation is being able to play regular football again, and he’s been assured by Unai Emery that he could do so with Arsenal.

Despite the news of additional offers, it seems unlikely Suarez will end up anywhere other than Arsenal or Barcelona at this point. Something will have to give before a transfer can happen though.