Arsene Wenger said Friday said the deal for Borussia Dortmund striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is “far from close”.
According to German media reports, Dortmund have rejected a second bid of €58 million by Arsenal for the 28-year-old.
The club is reportedly asking for €70 million euros for the Gabon international, whose contract runs on till 2021.
“At the moment, we stay where we are,” Wenger said.
“We keep our players. We have added Mkhitaryan and we have lost Alexis, so our squad is stable.
“Will anything else happen? At the moment I would say I don’t know. It’s still possible but we are far from being close.”
Wenger also touched on forward Olivier Giroud, who media reports claim could be a makeweight in the Aubameyang deal and has also been recently linked to Chelsea.
“I want Olivier to stay…. if nobody comes in, nobody goes out,” he said. “Maybe one or two young players out on loan somewhere but the experienced side of the squad will remain the same unless somebody comes in,” he said.
“He is an important player here that everyone wants to stay and there is a high level of respect for Olivier in this club.
“He will certainly get more games and he could only leave if somebody else comes in.”