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Arsenal transfer news: Unai Emery and Sven Mislintat disagree over Denis Suarez deal
ARSENAL head of recruitment Sven Mislintat is reportedly surprised by Unai Emery’s determination to sign Denis Suarez from Barcelona.
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Arsenal head of recruitment Mislintat played a key role in luring Emery to north London as Arsene Wenger’s successor back in the summer.
Together, the expectation was that the duo could work in tandem to steer the Gunners back towards the higher positions in the Premier League table.
However, recent reports have claimed Mislintat is looking to leave the club with Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich reportedly keen to lure him to the Allianz Arena.
Arsenal are looking at signings this month with Barcelona’s Suarez a player in their sights.
And the Independent claim Mislintat is not the one driving the pursuit of the Spaniard.
As head of recruitment, the Arsenal man is charged with the task of identifying players to land.
In the summer, he did his job well, securing the services of Lucas Torreira, Bernd Leno and Matteo Guendouzi for a combined £52million.
He also did well last January, luring both Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to the Emirates.
But the Independent say it is Emery, and not Mislintat, who sees Suarez as the ideal fit.
The Barcelona star has struggled for minutes over in Catalonia this season.
Arsenal are trying to land the 25-year-old on loan amid talk Aaron Ramsey could depart.
But whether they can secure his services by the end of the month is something only time will tell.
Mislintat, though, prefers to identify targets through statistical data and Suarez is not among them.
Meanwhile, La Liga expert Guillem Balague has claimed Suarez is NOT a priority for Arsenal despite Emery’s interest.
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“Barcelona thought the deal was going to be taking place this week because they thought it was going to be an easy one,” he told the Guillem Balague Transfer Show.
“Denis Suarez says ‘Arsenal or nothing, or I stay’.
“But it’s not as easy as that, there are other teams that are interested.
“The problem is for Arsenal, Denis Suarez is not a top priority.
“And because they’ve got a limited amount of money they can use on wages as well, and on loan deals, they’re just waiting to take a final decision.”