Sandro Tonali's agent has denied offering the Newcastle United midfielder to Arsenal during the January transfer window. Giuseppe Riso moved to clarify speculation that emerged ahead of Monday's deadline, which suggested the 25-year-old had been put forward as a possible option for the Gunners.
Arsenal were reported to be in the market for a midfielder after Mikel Merino was ruled out for an extended period following surgery on a broken foot. Sporting director Andrea Berta is said to have explored the possibility of signing Tonali but did not make contact with Newcastle over the Italy international.
Speaking to Sky Italia, Riso said: "We never had any conversation with Arsenal. Newcastle were never gonna let Tonali leave in January. There's absolutely nothing into it. We didn't even talk about it." Tonali, who has a contract at St James' Park until 2029, was sidelined for ten months last year after breaching gambling regulations.
Meanwhile, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has revealed he is open to bringing former midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain back to the club on a free transfer. The 32-year-old has been training with the Gunners' under-21s after being released by Besiktas in August.
Arteta confirmed that the club are actively looking for midfield reinforcements owing to Merino's injury. "We are on it," he said. "We need to do everything that we possibly can do to see if we have a player that is available, and if we don't, we keep what we have." Arsenal face Chelsea in the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg on Tuesday, holding a 3-2 aggregate lead.
