Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang may be being strongly linked with Arsenal, but Borussia Dortmund consider the rumours to be “rubbish”.
The Gabon international has emerged as a top target for the Gunners during the January transfer window, with Arsene Wenger eager to find another proven threat in the final third as Alexis Sanchez edges towards the exits.
Goal revealed earlier on Friday that personal terms have been thrashed out with the 28-year-old , along with Henrikh Mkhitaryan – with the Armenian set to form part of an Alexis trade agreement with Manchester United.
Dortmund, though, maintain that they have no formal offers on the table for Aubameyang, meaning that he remains part of their plans despite being left out of the squad for Friday's clash with Hertha Berlin.
The Bundesliga side’s sporting director, Michael Zorc, told Eurosport of the ongoing transfer talk: "We're planning on going with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
"There's a way back into the team, but professionalism is part of that, and that includes saying you've made a mistake in one situation or another."
Zorc added: "There is nothing really concrete on the table. There's a lot of rubbish."
This is not the first time that the Dortmund director has sought to play down Aubameyang’s links to Arsenal .
After seeing Arsene Wenger quizzed on the subject of his reported interest in the forward at a press conference on Thursday, Zorc said: “We consider it disrespectful to speak about players from other clubs.
“There is no contact with Arsenal.
“We assume that Wenger has enough to do dealing with his own players.”
Amid the uncertainty surrounding his future in Germany, Aubameyang is enjoying another profitable season in front of goal.
He has netted 21 times in the 2017-18 campaign so far, with that return achieved in just 23 appearances.
It remains to be seen where his next strike will be recorded, with Arsenal having until the end of the month to get a proposed move pushed through and Dortmund having a little under two weeks in which to try and fend off any interest.