Arsenal have been dealt a blow in their pursuit of Barcelona defender Samuel Umtiti , after he hinted at who his next club could be.
The 26-year-old has been a long-term target for the Gunners, who are desperate to solve their problems in defence.
But Umtiti admitted to Spanish publication Sport that he is interested in a move back to his former club Lyon.
Speaking of his future plans, Umtiti said: "I'd like to be a coach. I take notes from those I've worked under, their training sessions and what they do.
"Returning to Lyon is a possibility, as a player or as a coach."
Umtiti spent five years with Lyon from 2011-16, before transferring to the Nou Camp in a £24.6 million deal.
However it's unlikely he could be leaving Barca anytime soon.
He is good friends with Arsenal forward Alexandre Lacazette, who pleaded for him to join the north London club in the summer.
Umtiti said in response as recently as September: "Honestly, I don’t know where this rumour with Arsenal came from.
"Overnight, I received messages from my friends saying, 'Ah, so you are joining Arsenal?' I’m not, I’m sorry but I’m staying at Barcelona."
Asked whether there had been contact with Arsenal, Umtiti added: "To be honest, I don’t know if they had conversations with my agent, I just told him that I didn’t care what was happening this summer and that it wasn’t even necessary to talk to me about it.
"It was useless, I was going to have the same answer. My dream as a child is to play for Barcelona."
Meanwhile Gunners fans have issued a strongly-worded statement accusing the Arsenal hierarchy of “rudderless” leadership which has left the club “floating aimlessly.”
The angry backlash comes from the same set of supporters who issued a powerful online #WeCareDoYou campaign in July against owner Stan Kroenke and the club’s board.
Kroenke’s son, Arsenal director Josh, gave a powerful response to Mirror Sport urging fans to “get behind the team” while the club also backed Unai Emery with a summer spending spree which included club record £72m signing Nicolas Pepe.
The fan statement does not directly call for under-pressure Emery to be sacked but, instead, takes aim at the Kroenke ownership and warns about falling attendances, a lack of direction on and off the pitch and the club losing its identity.
