Arsenal report: Defender's move falls through, despite recent comments from the star

Arsenal have been dealt a major blow, as one Deadline Day deal has fallen through.

The Gunners have enjoyed an unprecedented summer, strengthening their attack with what they hope will be level-raising signings in the form of Viktor Gyokeres, Noni Madueke and Viktor Gyokeres – while also replacing Thomas Partey and Jorginho in midfield with Martin Zubimendi and Christian Norgaard.

But though Arsenal's defence has been the strongest part of the team over the last couple of years, it's perhaps where the most surprising moves have happened this summer.

Deal for defender falls through on Deadline Day, as Arsenal finalise their squad

Arsenal have looked to tweak their backline over the last couple of months, with Takehiro Tomiyasu seeing his contract terminated after injury hell, and Cristhian Mosquera replacing him as a like-for-like squad player.

Kieran Tierney has left on a free transfer to return to boyhood Celtic, while Jakub Kiwior is on the brink of a move to Porto – while Piero Hincapie is said to have an agreement for a loan move with an option to buy.

Unfortunately, however, Oleksandr Zinchenko has seen his exit from N5 fall through.

The Ukrainian recently spoke to The Athletic about the “worst season of his career”, in which he detailed his struggle with losing his place in Mikel Arteta's side and having to sit on the bench for a year – yet despite talks with several clubs, he has failed to engineer a departure from the Emirates Stadium.

Isaan Khan of the Mail has reported that the left-back will not be moving today after recent talks with Marseille came to nothing.

FourFourTwo understands that salary are an obstacle for a lot of teams chasing the 28-year-old's signature, while the specificity of his inverted full-back role is an issue, given that most clubs have no need for a player of Zinchenko's profile.

Last season, the former Manchester City man played mostly in cameo performances as an option off the bench to replace Martin Odegaard in midfield, and may well do once again – unless a transfer to Saudi Arabia or Turkey materialises, with both leagues' transfer windows closing later.

Zinchenko is worth 20m, according to Transfermarkt.