Arsenal will block Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain from joining Liverpool this summer.
England international Oxlade-Chamberlain is entering the final year of his contract at Arsenal.
According to the Daily Star Sunday , the Gunners are acceptant that he could leave next summer, but they want him to see out the final year of his deal.
Arsenal are struggling to come to an agreement with Monaco over midfielder Thomas Lemar, leaving Arsene Wenger sweating over midfield options.
Liverpool have been increasingly keen on landing Oxlade-Chamberlain but are allegedly set to fall short in their approach.
Van Dijk tells Saints: I want Liverpool move
Virgil van Dijk has told Southampton he ONLY wants to join Liverpool leaving the Saints in danger of missing out on a bumper £50 million pay day.
The disgruntled Dutchman, who turned 26 on Saturday, wants to push through a move to Anfield even though Liverpool were warned off last month for allegedly tapping up the defender after Saints complained to the Premier League.
Liverpool backed off with an apology – but Jurgen Klopp is desperate to add the commanding centre-half to his squad and hasn’t given up hope of doing a deal before the window closes.
Southampton don’t want to lose van Dijk but the Dutchman has made it clear he wants to play Champions League football as he did at Celtic before his move to St Mary’s.
Hamann: Liverpool need a Plan B
Didi Hamann reckons Jurgen Klopp needs a Plan B for next season – to stop his Kop stars burning out.
Liverpool made a strong start to the last campaign and were title contenders until Christmas.
But they ran out of steam in a disastrous January that sabotaged their dreams – and former Anfield midfielder Hamann believes Klopp’s high-energy pressing game is in danger of leaving them knackered again, especially with European action back on the agenda.
“Every season is big for Liverpool but this might be bigger because the last thing you want to do is to drop straight back out of the Champions League if you don’t finish in the top four,” said the German international.
“So it could be a decisive campaign because at times last season Liverpool looked tired even though they had no European football.
“They have got to prove they can compete on three or four fronts and be reasonably competitive in each of them – that’s the big test for Klopp and the team.
“I’m intrigued to see how they will get on because I feel they need a Plan B.
“They need another way of winning games that doesn’t always involve them playing at 100mph.”