Raul de Tomas is unlikely to join Arsenal before the Monday's transfer deadline at 11pm football.london understands.
The 27-year-old Spaniard - who has an impressive record of 38 goals in 71 games for Espanyol - emerged as a late candidate for the Gunners, who are looking to strengthen in the centre forward position before the January window slams shut.
It was thought that de Tomas could arrive to bolster depth in the No.9 spot, but sources close to the player revealed to football.london that any deal will be very difficult this late in the window.
Now Espanyol director Jose Maria Duran has all but confirmed that a deal is unlikely.
“Arsenal called for Raúl de Tomás but we didn’t even want to talk," he told Esport3, as cited by Fabrizio Romano on Twitter.
"We won’t let him go now, no way. His release clause is €75million (£62.4million)”.
Even though the Gunners look set to miss out on de Tomas, it's not thought that this will impact the impending exit of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Aubameyang has been frozen out of the current squad under Mikel Arteta ever since a disciplinary breach in December, an incident that resulted in him being stripped of the Gunners' captaincy.
The 32-year-old has been the subject of interest from a number of clubs, with two sides in Saudi Arabia willing to cover his salary until the end of the season.
However, football.london reported that his preference is to stay in Europe, and a move to Barcelona is expected, though an agreement is yet to be reached.
The Gabon international has found the net 92 times in an Arsenal shirt in just 163 appearances, but after being left out of the Gunners' warm weather camp in Dubai this week, his time at the club appears to be nearing its end.
