Ralf Rangnick was reportedly in the frame to take over at Arsenal in 2018, but the details of the story don’t seem to add up.

The Mirror report that recently-appointed Manchester United manager Ralf Rangnick was one of a number of candidates to replace Arsene Wenger in 2018, holding talks with Arsenal.

According to the report, Rangnick ended up turning down the offer when the club renewed Mesut Ozil’s contract, given it was a significant financial commitment and he hadn’t been consulted in advance.

But that timeline doesn’t really make much sense.

Wenger didn’t leave Arsenal until the summer, and the decision wasn’t made until late April. Ozil’s new contract was signed in January of that year.

By all accounts, the bulk of Arsenal’s managerial recruitment work happened after the Wenger announcement. Unai Emery didn’t join the club until late May, there was clearly no candidate lined up for the job ahead of April.

It’s very possible the Arsenal staff had Rangnick on a shortlist before that, but the idea that they were holding talks with him months before anyone knew that Wenger would be leaving is a little far-fetched.

Even more far-fetched is the idea that Rangnick would think he was such an advanced candidate for a job that wouldn’t open up for another three months that he would pull out of the race over not being consulted on contract decisions.

This is the same Rangnick that said this week that it’s not his job to convince a player to extend their contract.

But he takes issue with a club he’s not even working at extending a deal without consulting him first? It’s hard to believe.