Arsenal had no chance of landing Serie A star this summer

He was persistently linked with a summer transfer to Arsenal but Gunners target Mauro Icardi has admitted he never had any plans to leave Inter Milan, report talkSPORT.

The Argentina international is Inter’s captain at San Siro and despite being linked with mega money bids from Arsene Wenger’s side, a transfer away was never in his thinking.

The 23-year-old told Tiki Taka: “I always said I didn’t want to leave Inter.

“I’m happy in Milan, I want to win something in this shirt, and with this great squad we now have an opportunity to do so.”

Also heavily linked with Gonzalo Higuain and Alexandre Lacazette this summer before eventually signing Lucas Perez from Deportivo La Coruna, Icardi was a desirable signing in most Gunners fans’ minds.

Scoring 51 Serie A goals in 95 appearances for the Nerazzurri since signing from Sampdoria in 2013, Icardi fits the profile of being a world class striker while the jury is still very much out on what Lucas can achieve with the Gunners.

Not only receiving the attention of Arsenal in the summer, Napoli were also keen on Icardi’s signature with the striker revealing their intentions.

“Was I close to Napoli? I wasn’t close, but there was contact,” said Icardi.

“Not just from Napoli, but with my wife who is also my agent. But I hinted to her and to everyone that I wanted to stay in Milan.”