Arsenal have been warned that Patrik Schick will not leave Bayer Leverkusen in the immediate future as the Gunners’ search for a new striker continues. Mikel Arteta is understood to be keen to add to the club’s attacking options next season with doubt over a number of forwards currently at the Emirates Stadium.
Both Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah are out of contract at the end of the season and could be set to wave goodbye to the Emirates Stadium on free transfers. Should they both leave, then that would leave a huge vacancy at the top end of the pitch.
A number of potential candidates have been mentioned regarding a summer arrival in north London including the likes of Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Alexander Isak and Lautaro Martinez. Another name that has been associated with Arsenal once again is Bayer Leverkusen’s Patrick Schick.
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The Czech forward has been in great form for the Bundesliga outfit having netted 20 goals in as many league games this season, those displays having built on his impressive form at Euro 2020 last summer. Arsenal have of course been linked with the former Roma man in the past, with reports as recently as February suggesting that the Gunners were set to ‘step up’ their interest.
Despite those claims, any potential deal appears unlikely with Leverkusen CEO Fernando Carro ruling out a summer exit for the 26-year-old.
Speaking with Sky in Germany, he said: “No, we will not sell Patrik Schick. There is no need to talk about that at all. We are very happy that he is with us, and we firmly count on him for the next few years.”
The statement is a huge blow to Arsenal’s hopes of securing a forward - particularly with Schick having earned plenty of plaudits for his performances over the past 12 months.
Former Czech international Patrik Berger has previously hailed the striker’s abilities having been linked with a move to Juventus as far back as 2017.
Speaking with OmniSport, he said: "I saw him in the Czech league and he was doing pretty well, scoring a lot of goals for a team that was fighting relegation, which is not easy.
"Then he moved to Italy and I think his first season in Italy was amazing. He was not scoring tap-ins, he was scoring really good goals, so the move to Juventus is a fantastic move for him.”
