Thursday 18 January 2018 12:18, UK
Arsene Wenger has ruled out a January move for Bordeaux winger Malcom and says "nothing is close" regarding a deal to bring Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to Arsenal.
Bordeaux President Stephane Martin has said there was no contact between Malcom and the Premier League club, despite reports from Brazil claiming Arsenal had agreed a £44.4m deal to sign the Brazilian.
Sky Sports' football expert Guillem Balague understands that the Gunners are optimistic of signing Aubameyang in a deal worth up to £53.4m.
However, the Frenchman insists there has been no movement regarding the potential transfer of Aubameyang from Borussia Dortmund and says a move for Malcom is unlikely this month.
"I don't think we are close to [signing Malcom]. I don't think [that it will happen in January], no.
"No, I have nothing to add to that [Aubameyang]. These kind of things are better when they are secret and you don't come out on it. You announce it when it's over the line apart from the deal we've just spoken about Sanchez and Mkhitaryan [that] could happen, yes. Nothing else is close."
Aubameyang has had various disciplinary issues this season with Dortmund and as a result, was left out of their squad for last week's match against Wolfsburg, but Wenger does not think his attitude would be a problem if he came to north London.
When asked whether Aubameyang would fit in, he replied: "Yes because a character can be of a very positive note and can be a very negative note.
"I believe that overall you look at the achievement of a player during his career and usually when a career has been very positive, the character has been used in a positive way."
