Sandro Tonali's agent has denied offering the Newcastle star to Arsenal on transfer deadline day. Tonali, 25, was briefly linked with a stunning move to the Emirates before Monday's 7pm deadline.

The Gunners have put the feelers out in search of a new midfielder after confirming that Mikel Merino will be out for an 'extended period' following surgery on a broken foot. Tonali emerged as a potential option, with it being reported that Arsenal had been offered the chance to sign him by the Italian's camp.

Andrea Berta, Arsenal's sporting director, explored the move but chose not to make contact with Newcastle. Now Tonali's agent, Giuseppe Riso, has spoken to Sky Italia in an attempt to clear the air.

"We never had any conversation with Arsenal," Riso is quoted as saying. "Newcastle were never gonna let Tonali leave in January. There's absolutely nothing into it. We didn't even talk about it."

FOLLOW OUR ARSENAL FB PAGE! Latest Gunners news and more on our dedicated Facebook page

• Mikel Arteta leaves door open to former Arsenal player joining as Mikel Merino replacement

• Ethan Nwaneri drops major Arsenal hint over future just days into Marseille loan

Tonali is considered one of the Premier League's best midfielders and has a contract with Newcastle until 2029. His deal at St James' Park was extended during his 10-month ban for breaching gambling rules.

Meanwhile, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta revealed on Monday that he'd be open to signing ex-Gunners midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain on a free transfer. Oxlade-Chamberlain, 32, has been training with the Gunners' under-21s for the past few weeks in an effort to maintain his fitness after being released by Turkish giants Besiktas in August.

"We explore every option," Arteta said ahead of Tuesday's Carabao Cup semi-final second leg at home to Chelsea, with the Gunners leading 3-2 on aggregate.

Should Arsenal sign Sandro Tonali in the summer? Have your say in the comments section.

On their search for a midfielder in light of Merino's injury, the Arsenal boss replied: "We are on it. And it's our responsibility, when we are playing for what we are playing, to give ourselves the best opportunity and chance to look at the market, every option, evaluate them, and then make a decision whether we do something, if it's possible.

"When you lose a big player like this in the squad with four months to go and all the competitions to play for, you need to look. And we need to do everything that we possibly can do to see if we have a player that is available, and if we don’t, we keep what we have.

"At this level, especially for four months, you have to bring a player that has the capacity to adapt immediately and impact the team. That is not easy, but if it was easy we would not be here. So we need to find solutions and try. We need players because we play every two, three days."

Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us - and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.