Arsenal had major reservations about Leicester’s Youri Tielemans that stopped them from making a bid for the player before the transfer deadline, according to The Athletic.

The Gunners were scrambling to sign a midfielder following the injuries sustained by Thomas Partey and Mohamed Elneny, but Tielemans was deemed unsuitable as he was classed as a no.8, rather than as a no.6.

There was also a related concern that Tielemans doesn’t do enough defensively. If he was signed, he would have likely replaced Granit Xhaka and, despite some of the criticism over the years, the Swiss international does put in the hard yards, even if his tackling can leave a lot to be desired.

The third and final reason that the Leicester star wasn’t considered is down to his physical attributes. Pressing is a key part of Mikel Arteta’s style of play and it was felt that the Belgian international would have fallen short in terms of what was required of him.

There were reportedly other suitors for Tielemans, including Manchester United, but ultimately nobody decided to take a chance on the 25-year-old. He could now move at the end of the season on a free transfer.