Arsenal have made contact with Espanyol in a bid to sign Raul de Tomas.
But Espanyol director Jose Maria Duran has confirmed a deal will not take place this January unless the Gunners trigger the 27-year-old midfielder's release clause.
Duran told Esport 3: "Arsenal called for Raul de Tomas but we didn't even want to talk. We won't let him go now, no way. His release clause is €75million (£60m)".
Arsenal are linked with a number of top players this January deadline day but have found they are being priced out of deals.
Mikel Arteta is very keen to strengthen his midfield and attack and has been linked with a number of stars including Arthur Melo and Youri Tielemans, as well as DusanVhalovic.
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After failing to lure the trio to the Emirates, Arteta and co. turned their attention to De Tomas.
And while a deal for the former Real Madrid striker is not entirely off the table, Arsenal will have to stump up more cash than they'd like to make the transfer a reality.
Meanwhile, the Gunners remain in hot pursuit of Real Sociedad forward Alexander Isak.
Arsenal were initially linked with Vlahovic but the Serbian picked Juventus over the north London club.
Arsenal quickly turned their attention to Isak, who was spotted in London this weekend.
According to Spanish publication Mundo Deportivo, Arsenal have also been in contact with Real Sociedad over a £60million move for the 22-year-old Swede.
But the bid was reportedly rejected, with the La Liga club only willing to accept Isak's release clause of £75million.
As things stand, Arsenal are facing having to part with a huge amount of money to sign either target.
And this simply isn't realistic, even with out-of-favour Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on the verge of a Barcelona move, which would ease pressure on the Gunners' wage bill.
