Rumoured Arsenal option on midfielder dismissed – Player was released ‘without problems’ last summer

Arsenal do not have an option to sign AC Milan midfielder Ismael Bennacer, despite reports to the contrary.

That’s according to CalcioMercato, who report that reports in England suggesting Arsenal had an option to re-sign the midfielder are false.

Bennacer joined Arsenal as a youngster from AC Arles in 2015 and went on to make 33 appearances for the club, although only one of them was for the first team.

He departed permanently to Empoli in 2017, starring for the Italian side before earning himself a £14m move to AC Milan last summer.

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Now a key player in their midfield, it had been suggested Arsenal could bring him back to the Emirates and had an option to do so.

However, CalcioMercato report this isn’t the case and instead have the details on what the situation is behind the scenes.

According to the website, when AC Milan first moved for Bennacer last summer, Arsenal had an option to match their proposal, which had been included as part of his move to Empoli in the first place.

However, they decided not to exercise this right last summer ‘renouncing’ their option to match Milan’s bid or even try to get a resale percentage from them.

This freed Bennacer ‘without problems’ to make a move to Milan and, leave him no longer tied to Arsenal in any way shape or form.

That includes any option to bring him back to the Emirates, meaning if he is a potential target for Mikel Arteta, they will have to buy him the same way as everybody else.