Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah was close to leaving the club before the end of the just concluded winter transfer window before Gunners boss Unai Emery pulled the plug on the deal.
Nketiah, 19, was on the verge of joining struggling German Bundesliga club Augsburg on loan until the end of the season before Spanish tactician Unai Emery blocked the move.
According to The Sun, the Arsenal manager blocked the move after failing to secure the signing of either Ivan Perisic or Yannick-Ferreira Carrasco.
Unai Emery had earlier confirmed in one of his pre-match press conferences in January that Arsenal can’t sign players permanently and that the Gunners can only do loan deals.
Inter Milan were adamant that Croatian forward Ivan Perisic won’t leave the club for Arsenal on loan.
The Gunners were unable to pull off a transfer for Perisic as a result of that.
For Carrasco, his club wanted a big loan fee which was a long way off from the Gunners’ valuation.
The new development is a big blow to Eddie Nketiah who wanted to leave Arsenal temporarily last month in search of more first team opportunities.
He has made five appearances for Arsenal this season and his last outing was in the FA Cup third round win over League One side Blackpool on January 5.