The Gunners have been linked with a move to sign the Frenchman, who only joined the La Liga champions a year ago in a deal worth up to £135.5million, throughout the transfer window.
He endured a frustrating first 12 months at the Nou Camp because of injuries while there have been suggestions Ernesto Valverde is not wholly convinced by the prodigious 21-year-old.
The World Cup winner is thought to have keen admirers at the Emirates Stadium, in particular head of recruitment Sven Mislintat – who signed him at Borussia Dortmund two years ago.And Barca’s decision to sign Malcom, who played predominantly on the right for Bordeaux last season, led to speculation of a move away for Dembele.
But he has responded to speculation over his future and declared that he will remain in Spain with Lionel Messi and co. for the 2018-19 campaign.
The former Rennes trainee joined French online gamer FM_Guru during his Twitch stream of Football Manager yesterday and fielded questions from fans.
Answering one over his future, Dembele said: “I’m staying at Barcelona and I’m ready to play the Spanish Super Cup.”
Dembele also laughed off other suggestions he would be joining Arsenal as he responded to other comments and hailed team-mate Lionel Messi as the best player in history.
Unai Emery has brought in five signings this summer in Stephan Lichtsteiner, Bernd Leno, Sokratis Papastathopoulous, Lucas Torreira and Matteo Guendouzi.
But he is believed to want to recruit a pacey wide-man with Alex Iwobi the only out-and-out senior winger in his squad.
Dembele would certainly fit into the profile that Emery is looking for, although there have never been any credible links despite the reported admiration for the player’s talents.
Arsenal were linked with a loan move for the attacker – the third-most expensive footballer of all time – that would see them pay €10million up-front (£9m) and then €90m (£81m) to make the deal permanent next summer.
That comes after Dembele was pictured alongside Arsenal quartet Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Henrikh Mkhitaryan – his former Dortmund team-mates – and compatriots Alexandre Lacazette and Matteo Guendouzi in London last week.
Unai Emery has seen plenty of new faces come through the door but the highest profile addition might yet be on his way.
Barcelona star Ousmane Dembele is reportedly wanted by the Gunners, who are prepared to take the young French winger on loan for the coming season.Elsewhere, Danny Welbeck has been linked with a move away, while Lucas Perez and Calum Chambers have both moved in recent days.
Dembele scored four goals and added nine assists in 24 appearances in all competitions for Barca last season.
Dembele has been assured of his place at Barcelona.
The France forward was signed from Borussia Dortmund for a huge £134million last summer, in a deal that made him one of football’s most-expensive players of all time.
As a result, Barcelona are unlikely to cut him loose.
Club president Josep Maria Bartomeu has told Dembele in a face to face meeting that by staying at the club and playing alongside Lionel Messi he will enhance his reputation.
He will hope to get his second season at Barca off to a good start if he is involved when they face Sevilla in the Spanish Super Cup on Sunday.
But the I say that, if using Messi as bait fails to pay off, that could benefit Arsenal.
The France star is close to Gunners hitman Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
But whether the prospect of a reunion with the Gabon international is enough for him to move to Arsenal remains to be seen.
Speaking in June, meanwhile, Bartomeu tipped Dembele to come good.
He said of the 21-year-old: “Dembele will go nowhere. He and Coutinho are a big investment for us.
“They are very important to our project and we expect a lot from them.
“Coutinho in the last four months has been very active in the team but Dembele is a very young player and talented and we expect great things.
“Next season will be different. It’s not easy to play at Barca in your first year because the style of football is quite different from at other teams.”