Arsene Wenger has insisted there is no truth in claims he denied Mathieu Debuchy a potential move to Manchester United.
French defender Debuchy, 31, told L’Equipe he barely speaks with Arsenal boss Wenger and that a number of clubs, including United, showed an interest in signing him.
“They never made an offer for him. That’s completely untrue,” Wenger said. “It’s sometimes surprising to hear things like that.”
Injury problems and the form of Hector Bellerin meant Debuchy was out of the first-team picture at Arsenal last season and spent the second half of the campaign on loan at Bordeaux.
Debuchy, who claims there was also interest in him from Fiorentina and Espanyol, has played only 16 minutes this season, having picked up another injury after being recalled to the side in November.
Speaking at a press conference on Friday morning, Wenger confirmed that Arsenal are open to offers for the right-back but denied he had not spoken to Debuchy.
“Of course (offers will be considered), but we speak – we communicate with all the players,” Wenger said.
“It’s a little bit of a frustrated article from a player who is injured. When you are injured you cannot play.
“He was injured when Bellerin was injured. I cannot do anything about that.
“Last year I gave him the opportunity to go to Bordeaux on loan, but we had nobody come in for him during the summer period.
“There are some things that are not true in this article. You have to take this article with a bit of distance.
“We never blocked him going to Fiorentina nor to Espanyol. They had no interest in him at all. We checked that.”
Wenger also denied any interest in Atalanta midfielder Franck Kessie, whose agent has claimed that Arsenal are among several English clubs keen to sign the Ivory Coast international.