Barcelona insist they are still in the market for Julian Alvarez, and that is another blow for Arsenal's chances of landing him.
Atletico Madrid insist there is "zero chance" of selling to their La Liga rivals, which has opened the door for Arsenal with Mikel Arteta a huge fan of the Argentina striker.
But Barcelona are not giving up, and reports from Spain on Wednesday said Alvarez missed training because he felt unwell, which only plays into the growing stand-off.
Barcelona president's statement
Barcelona president Joan Laporta said: "The truth is that we are very interested in the player and we would like our offer to be accepted.
"We say this with all respect to Atletico Madrid and we want them to know that, if they are open to selling in this summer transfer window, we would be willing to buy the player in accordance with the offer we have submitted to them."
Arsenal's transfer plans
However, Arsenal are running out of time to get a deal done on Alvarez, and they are close to sealing a deal for Gabriel Martinelli to Al Hilal for £50m-plus, which includes a 15 per cent sell-on fee.
They also want to offload Gabriel Jesus and Fabio Vieira, and the reality is even if they finish their outgoings they may end up not getting anyone in, as they believe the squad is strong enough whether Alvarez gets done or not.
