Wolfsburg on Thursday evening issued a statement to rubbish former Arsenal target Julian Draxler’s claims after the player went public over his desire to move to a bigger club this summer.

The 22-year-old winger moved to Volkswagen Arena last summer but recently, in an interview with German publication Bild, said that he had reached an agreement with Wolfsburg to depart the club any time if “top international clubs” came calling. However, the Bundesliga club rubbished his claims, stating no such verbal or written commitments were made at the time of his transfer. They proceeded to claim that he would be allowed to leave next summer if his release clause (£62million) were met.

Arsene Wenger is keen to add a striker to his roster, but Draxler has not been linked with the club this summer. However, with their interests in strikers hardly amounting to anything so far, they might have turned to the German international, but Wolfsburg’s statement has averted any interest from the Gunners.

Only a few strikers are available in the transfer market, with big names such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Gonzalo Higuain, and Michy Batshuayi having already moved to other clubs. Arsenal are now left with second-tier strikers such as Alexandre Lacazette, who will likely be a subject of a second bid from Arsenal in the coming days.

Theo Walcott recently revealed that he had told the manager that he would prefer to be deployed out wide. That leaves Arsenal with even fewer options up front. The need for an alternative or a competition to first-choice centre-forward Olivier Giroud will prompt Arsenal to wrap up a striker signing before the transfer window slams shut.