Arsenal will not be reigniting their transfer interest in Lyon's Houssem Aouar in January.
The Gunners were heavily linked with the French playmaker throughout the summer as they sought a creative midfielder.
Aouar ended up staying at the Ligue 1 club with the north London outfit unable to pay the desired £40m upfront.
The 22-year-old has since reaffirmed his commitment to Lyon by saying: “I am very happy to be here, I took the decision to stay with the club that formed me, I savour every day I have here."
Mikel Arteta's decision to leave Mesut Ozil out of his playing squads has copped criticism and led to suggestions they will look to add more flair in midfield.
But Aouar will not be their man according to the Athletic who claim they are set to pursue other targets.
Arsenal have been linked with Norwich’s Emiliano Buendia, Borussia Dortmund midfielder Julian Brandt and Barcelona ’s Riqui Puig.
The former of those three is most likely to move with the Canaries now in the second tier.
He was a rare bright spark in a difficult season for Norwich last season.
Arteta wants any January recruits to hit the ground running and Buendia has proved he can cut it in the top flight.
Brandt and Puig would represent more risk given they have no experience of English football.
There is also the possibility of the Arsenal boss performing a u-turn and bringing Ozil back into the fold.
The Gunners' players are split with a cluster of their stars keen to see the German reintegrated into the first team.
Ozil has continued to back the team on social media and is poised to leave on a free come the summer.
But his omission has been used as a stick to beat Arteta as he watched his Arsenal side go without a win in the league for almost three months before they saw off Chelsea on Boxing Day.
