Kingsley Coman has dismissed speculation of a move to Arsenal, insisting he has had no contact from the Premier League club.
The France international made just 10 Bundesliga starts for Bayern Munich in 2017-18 and has failed to make himself a mainstay in the German champions’ starting line-up since joining from Juventus in 2015.
However, Coman signed a three-year contract extension in December of last year, committing his future to the German club until 2023.
With Arsenal manager Unai Emery reportedly interested in signing the 22-year-old, Coman was asked whether he was certain to be playing for Bayern in the upcoming season, to which he replied: “Normally, yes.”
“I extended my contract for five years, so normally I will stay here.
“I had no contact [with] Arsenal.”
The winger made an appearance as a second-half substitute in Bayern’s 3-1 win over Paris Saint-Germain in the International Champions Cup on Saturday, and said he was working his way back to form and fitness amid fierce competition for places.
“I have more personal ambitions. In other words, I hope to find the level again I had before my injury,” he said.
“We are all there to help the team and of course, there are some who will play more than others. But above all, I will focus on me, give everything to find my level again.
“Inevitably, we always want to play as much as possible. Not only this year, but also last year, and the year before.
“After that, there is a coach and the coach will make his decisions. We must accept it but necessarily, we always want to play as much as possible.”
Arsenal manager Unai Emery and his supporting cast have identified key targets and tied them down quickly. So they have signed a combative midfielder in Lucas Torreira, two experienced defenders in Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Stephan Lichtsteiner and Bernd Leno to serve as goalkeeping competition for Petr Cech. All of those signings come in areas of the pitch which desperately needed strengthening, even if Sokratis, Lichtsteiner and Leno need to dispel early doubts about mobility, age and individual errors respectively.
Having already signed Aubameyang from Dortmund in January plus the addition of Alexander Lacazette last summer, it is hard to see the gunners going all out for an attacker even though they lack a natural winger in their ranks. Aubameyang can play on the flanks but many would argue that playing him there denies him more time in the box where he is likely to cause more damage.
Iwobi is another candidate for the wing role but he does not posses the speed nor the quality on the ball to be as explosive as Coman has been at his peak. Being relatively young though, the Young Nigerian may still get his chance to impress the new boss and own that spot that is completely isolated in the Arsenal team.