Arsenal head coach Unai Emery has ruled out a January move for Real Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas.
The 32-year-old Costa Rica international has been recently linked with a switch to the Emirates Stadium with former Chelsea man Thibaut Courtois now established as first-choice at Madrid.
The Gunners signed Bernd Leno last summer for a reported fee in excess of £22million and the German has gone on to replace Petr Cech in the Arsenal goal.
While Leno, 26, has impressed on some occasions his decision-making has been questioned in recent times.
But Emery – who often does not speak about transfer speculation – was bullish when asked if a move for Navas was on the cards.
“Not true,” he replied. “We never speak about one goalkeeper because I think – and it’s true – we are very happy with the three goalkeepers we have now. We’ve never spoken about Keylor Navas.”
Emery takes his side to face Blackpool in the third round of the FA Cup on Saturday evening, with Cech likely to be given a rare outing between the posts.
🤔 Seeing as we play @BlackpoolFC this weekend… 🇩🇪 On our last visit, back in 2011, Jens Lehmann came out of retirement to make a dramatic return to our line up at the age of 41 😄 We won 3-1 in what was Lehmann's 200th and final appearance for the club ⏮ #ThrowbackThursday pic.twitter.com/jiNcEjekyQ — Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) January 3, 2019
Arsenal are likely to make a number of changes given their current injury list – which still includes Mesut Ozil – and on the back of a gruelling festive fixture list.
Aaron Ramsey could feature having come off the bench to score in the New Year’s Day win over Fulham.
The Wales international is set to leave Arsenal in the summer after a new contract offer was withdrawn by the club, with Ramsey’s current deal expiring at the end of the season.
The 28-year-old has been linked with a stream of top European clubs including Juventus and Bayern Munich.
Emery said after the Fulham game that he believes Ramsey will stay until the summer rather than be sold during the January window, and he again called on the midfielder to remain focused.
“I want his focus every day with us on training and thinking for the next match, which is against Blackpool,” Emery added.
“I am looking at him and he’s very concentrated with us now. On Tuesday, he scored when he played 15 minutes, and he gave a good performance.
“I want that from him, and also he needs to look at his future. But I want him in the present with us. At the end of the season is the moment he can go to one team or another team.”
