Arsenal manager Unai Emery has spoken out on whether the Gunners will make a loan offer for Barcelona attacking midfielder Philippe Coutinho before the transfer window shuts.

The London club had been named as a possible destination for the ex-Liverpool star but when asked about their interest in the player, following Arsenal’s 2-1 defeat to Barcelona yesterday, Emery said:

“We’ve never talked about Coutinho. He’s a splendid player, but we haven’t talked about Coutinho at any time.”

It always seemed to be a long shot but Emery’s comments will likely put to bed any speculation that Coutinho could arrive at the Emirates before August 8th.

Reports in Spain had indicated that Barca weren’t interested in offloading the player on a loan deal anyway, and the 27-year-old is only likely to depart on a permanent basis.

Emery has said that Arsenal will only sign more players before deadline day if they can improve the squad. Celtic’s Kieran Tierney still appears to be the most likely to sign for the Gunners before Thursday.