Unai Emery sent large parts of the Spanish sporting press into a bit of a tizzy by simply saying that Barcelona’s Samuel Umtiti is a ‘great player’.

France's defender Samuel Umtiti gives a press conference at the Aguilera stadium in Biarritz on May 21, 2016, during the team preparation for the Euro 2016 European football.  / AFP / FRANCK FIFE
France’s defender Samuel Umtiti gives a press conference at the Aguilera stadium in Biarritz on May 21, 2016, during the team preparation for the Euro 2016 European football. / AFP / FRANCK FIFE

It took Mundo Deportivo, Marca, and Sport practically no time at all to turn Unai Emery’s praise of the Frenchman into a transfer story that hints at the 25-year-old moving to Arsenal in the summer to join up with his good friend Alexandre Lacazette.

So what did Emery say? Well, he told RMC, “He is a very good player. France has very good players abroad. 

“But the French league is a very attractive market for many teams. I myself have always had French players in my teams, in Valencia, Sevilla, Paris and here in Arsenal. 

“And I’ve always been able to count on these players.”

GET PRINTING THOSE UMTITI SHIRTS!

This, of course, isn’t the first time Arsenal have been linked with a move for Umtiti but regardless of what Arsenal want (or can afford) the player has no desire to leave Barcelona, even to team up with Laca.