Wanda Nara, the wife and agent of Inter Milan captain Mauro Icardi, believes Ivan Perisic submitted a transfer request to join Arsenal over ‘personal issues’.

Perisic was linked with a move to Arsenal over the last week, with Inter director Giuseppe Marotta admitting the winger had handed in a transfer request. The 29-year-old was then dropped to the bench against Torino, making it pretty clear his mind was elsewhere.

Asked about the transfer request, Wanda Nara argued that Perisic should stay focused on his football, before hinting that the reason he wanted to leave was something personal.

“I don’t think any player should be too focused on the work of his agent, as he has to remain concentrated on the game anyway,” Nara said (via Soccer360Magazine). “No player wants to lose, even if he is eager to leave. Perhaps he wants to go elsewhere because of personal issues.”

Whatever the reasons behind Perisic’s attempted departure, it doesn’t seem like he’s set to have much luck. Di Marzio’s Francesco Porzio wrote on Tuesday night that it’s “very unlikely (if not impossible)” that the Inter Milan man moves to Arsenal in the current transfer window.

Unfortunately, it seems it was just too much to ask for Inter to lend Arsenal one of their best players for a few months without any guarantee of a transfer fee now or later. Particularly at this stage in the window without the ability to bring in a replacement.

For Arsenal, it seems Denis Suarez is now the only guaranteed January incoming, with a small possibility that Yannick Carrasco joins him at the Emirates Stadium. We’ll see what happens on deadline day.