Bayern Munich have laughed off talk that they could make a move for Julian Draxler in the summer, leaving a free path for Arsenal to attempt to lure him to the Emirates.
Arsenal had been strongly linked with a bid for the German flyer in January and were believed to have been deep into negotiations with Schalke, but with the deal having not been completed, there was a suggestion that Bayern could hijack their bid and bring the young forward to the Allianz Arena instead.
But chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has dismissed such talk out of hand, ruling out any move for Draxler in the near future.
Rummenigge told reporters, “Such rumours are ridiculous, absolutely nonsense.
“Every day a news item comes out and I can only laugh about it. We also talked about it with Schalke and we agree on this.
“I just can’t explain how these rumours come out. Maybe somebody doesn’t sleep well at night.”
Arsenal are in pole position to land Draxler when the transfer window re-opens in July and Schalke have admitted they are powerless to prevent him from leaving the club if a club meets his £37million release clause, which becomes active in the summer.