One of the most exciting rumours that have involved Arsenal over the past few seasons has without a doubt been the speculation over the past week surrounding David Villa, Barcelona and the Gunners.

With the North Londoners clearly lacking in fire-power quantity, the reportedly want-away Villa has been the subject of prayers from Gooners up and down the country, simply for the Catalan outfit to #FreeDavidVilla.

The best part about all the talk was that it was actually so believably true. Villa wanted Arsenal, Barca didn’t need Villa, Arsenal were owed by Barca, and Arsenal could afford the projected transfer fee and wages of the player.

However, before Gunners fans needed to worry about pinching themselves, it appears that Barcelona president Sandro Rosell has already delivered an almighty slap round the face by issuing this statement.

"I reject absolutely the transfer of Villa in the January window. He is ours and we need him," Rossell told Eurosport.

It’s genuinely gutting. It could have been the transfer that all Arsenal fans were waiting for and could have really injected some optimism going into the rest of the campaign.

Villa came off the bench for the last 25 minutes of Barcelona’s 4-0 victory over Espanyol at the weekend, which has been the story of his life since returning from a broken leg that has seemingly halted his career.

As a result of becoming a ‘fringe’ player, there had been reports that somewhere in the region of £13m would be enough money to persuade Barca to part with Villa, added to the fact that he himself was begging the club hierarchy to grant him permission to move.

However, that isn’t to be, and having been dealt a blow by Villa’s heavily pregnant wife supposedly not being keen on a switch to England, Rosell has all but killed any remaining hopes that Arsenal had of accomplishing that star signing.

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