Arsenal’s reported quest to bring Barcelona central defender Ronald Araujo to the Emirates Stadium at the end of the season is about to come to a bitter end.
ABC reported last month Arsenal had increased their contract offer to Araujo.
The Gunners had initially offered the central defender £96,153-a-week, but the Premier League club then upped it to €8m-a-year (£6.77m).
We covered the report here on HITC Sport.
However, it seems that the Uruguay international central defender – who has a release clause of €200 million (£166.85m), according to Sport – has decided to turn down Arsenal’s offer and will stay at Barcelona beyond the end of the season.
Ronald Araujo decision amid Arsenal interest
Well-known and well-respected journalist Fabrizio Romano has reported on Twitter that Araujo will sign a new contract with Barcelona, and has relayed comments from his agent as well.
Not a big blow
In our opinion, Araujo staying at Barcelona will not be a blow for Arsenal at all.
We do not think that the Gunners need to sign a new central defender in the summer transfer window.
Ben White and Gabriel are doing extremely well for Arsenal at the moment, and William Saliba is also due to return to the Emirates Stadium after his loan spell.
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