Arsenal tried to con Ivan Perisic during their pursuit of the forward, according to Inter Milan boss Luciano Spalletti.
The deal reportedly fell through with Inter Milan demanding a permanent deal instead of a loan, with the Italian giants rejecting the structure of a proposed loan to buy offer.
Perisic handed in a transfer request when he heard of the Gunners interest but Spalletti claims the Croatian then backed down as he realised the deal to go to Arsenal was not a “true offer”.
“There was this story on the market, but he is a professional, understands his role and yesterday it was already a very different mood,” Spalletti told RAI Sport.
“These things happen in the transfer window, the player received an impressive proposal and was tempted.
“However, he then realised it was not a true offer, that he’d been conned, and took a step back.
“Now he’ll resume training and as soon as his mind is back fully on Inter, we’ll let him play.”