Juventus forward Paulo Dybala did have an agreement in principle to sign for Arsenal, but the Argentinian international backed out of the move after the Gunners failed to qualify for the Champions League, according to Massimo Brambati.

The former defender is now an agent and, while he doesn’t represent Dybala, he claimed that he was made aware of a deal that would have seen the 28-year-old move to the Emirates:

“I heard a couple of weeks ago about an agreement with Arsenal if they had qualified [for the] Champions [League]. But I think that with the lack of qualification the thing is over.”

There were reports earlier this month that Dybala was a target for Arsenal (with Champions League football said to be crucial for the transfer to go ahead), and Brambati’s comments seem to confirm the story.

Mikel Arteta’s side are keen on signing a new number nine this summer but, with Dybala out of the picture, they are expected to focus on other targets, including Manchester City’s Gabriel Jesus, Benfica’s Darwin Nunez, Lille’s Jonathan David, Everton’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin and potentially Roma’s Tammy Abraham.