Unai Emery insists Arsenal have "never talked" about Philippe Coutinho despite the Barcelona playmaker being linked with a switch to the Emirates Stadium.
The Brazilian has struggled to make a sustained impact at the Nou Camp since his £142million move from Liverpool in January 2018, and there have been suggestions that he could be sold following the arrival of Antoine Griezmann at the club this summer as well as the potential return of Neymar.
But Coutinho has always insisted that he is happy to stay in Catalonia and fight for his place.
The 27-year-old was an unused substitute for Barca's Joan Gamper Trophy friendly match against Arsenal on Sunday evening, but he was never likely to feature having only just returned to the club following his summer exploits at the Copa America.
Barca came from behind to win the match 2-1 , with an own goal from Ainsley Maitland-Niles and a last gasp strike from Luis Suarez cancelling out an first-half goal from Pierre-Emerick Aubamyang.
And when asked about signing Coutinho at full-time, Emery told SER: "We’ve never talked about Coutinho.
"He’s a splendid player, but we haven’t talked about Coutinho at any time."
The Spaniard also insisted that he was happy with the effort of his players despite suffering defeat in their final gae of pre-season.
"Good feelings today, the game has been positive," he said.
"I look forward to the Premier League, there we have to look for a performance and a better result than today."
Emery also praised the impact of summer signing Dani Ceballos, who has joined the club on loan from Real Madrid .
"Dani comes to contribute his qualities," he said.
"What I like most is the desire he is putting in and the hunger with which he comes.
We will try to help him take a step forward as soccer player."
