Norwich City have confirmed that Arsenal will indeed miss out on a deal for Emiliano Buendia.
The Canaries winger has been a transfer target for the Gunners' for the best part of a year, but Edu and Mikel Arteta decided not to move on their interest in January, deciding instead upon a loan deal for Martin Odegaard.
A deal for Buendia appeared to be back on the table ahead of the summer transfer window with Arsenal putting a bid of more than £30million in for the Argentine.
But the Gunners have been beaten in the race to sign him, with Premier League rivals Aston Villa swooping in to agree on a deal with newly-promoted Norwich City, despite the Gunners matching the Midlands club's offer.
A Norwich statement read this morning: "Norwich City can confirm that a club-record deal has been agreed with Aston Villa for the transfer of Emi Buendia.
"Buendia will complete his final medical checks following the conclusion of Argentina’s World Cup qualifying fixture against Colombia on Tuesday evening.
"Final confirmation of the transfer will follow upon completion of the player’s medical."
That medical will have to wait for now with Aston Villa not able to breach the player's protective bubble ahead of Argentina's World Cup qualifier with Colombia on Tuesday night (Wednesday morning UK time).
But the deal is now well on its way and Arsenal have missed out with Villa offering a club-record fee for both them and Norwich, believed to be worth around £33million, with add-ons set to take it up to £40million.
The Gunners will now be forced to look elsewhere for reinforcements, and it is already being reported Wolves star Ruben Neves - although a different type of player - will become the next point of focus, along with Brighton's Yves Bissouma.
