European club 'refuse' to meet asking price for £34 million Arsenal star who hasn't played for the club for 755 days

Arsenal may be set to miss out on a hefty transfer fee for an out-of-favour player, as his current club are reportedly unwilling to trigger an option to buy.

With Arsenal sitting top of the Premier League and preparing for a Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain later this month, very few fans will be concerned about the summer transfer window.

However, this summer may prove pivotal in helping the Gunners become a dominant force in English football, with Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United all likely to bolster their squads before the 2026/27 campaign.

Last summer, Mikel Arteta welcomed several first-team players to the club, with Piero Hincapie (on loan), Eberechi Eze, Martin Zubimendi, Noni Madueke and Viktor Gyokeres among the arrivals.

Meanwhile, Cristhian Mosquera, Christian Norgaard and second-choice goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga have featured only sporadically.

Several players left the club, with Jorginho, Kieran Tierney, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Thomas Partey, Nuno Tavares, Albert Sambi Lokonga, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Jakub Kiwior, Reiss Nelson and Fabio Vieira all departing either on loan or permanently.

The final name on the list of departures, Vieira, has been loaned out twice in the last two seasons — first to Porto before joining Bundesliga side Hamburg ahead of the 2025/26 campaign.

The midfielder, who arrived from Porto for £34.2 million in the summer of 2022, struggled to secure a first-team spot under Arteta but has impressed in Germany, producing seven goals and six assists in 31 appearances for Hamburg.

Arsenal handed transfer dilemma

But according to Football London, the Germans are unwilling to trigger their £19.15 million option to buy the 25-year-old, meaning Arsenal may be forced to accept a cut-price offer for the star.

Talks are expected to take place after the conclusion of the Gunners’ campaign, although it remains unclear whether the player would like to make his loan move permanent or return to Arsenal and fight for his place.

Hamburg’s director of football, Claus Costa, and head coach Merlin Polzin are said to have held talks with Vieira as they try to convince him to join the club permanently this summer, with the German side willing to pay around £8.7 million for the Portuguese midfielder, whose Arsenal contract expires in 2027.

When asked whether he’d be staying at Hamburg on Saturday, Viera said: “I can't say that yet. No matter what the future brings, I was very happy here and will be forever grateful to the HSV. The club did everything for me, the support was amazing.

"I feel the love of the fans and the club. They all love me."