Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger insisted the club do not have a buy-back option on Barcelona midfielder Alex Song, while saying the Cameroon international is likely to stay at the Camp Nou for another year.
Song has had a bit of a nightmare first season with Barca, after sealing a move from Arsenal in the summer, making just 15 appearances, and most of them in less important matches, or when the club have endured an injury crisis.
From being a natural first-teamer at the Emirates, Song has gone onto become very much a bench player at Barcelona.
That has led to suggestions Wenger might be interested in bringing the player back, but the Arsenal manager played down those rumors.
"There is no buy-back clause," Wenger told reporters.
"I heard he wants to give it a go for another season, which you can understand because it's the first season (with Barcelona).
"I think he is a quality player and sometimes the players have to persist when it doesn't go well and not change their mind too soon.
"My personal advice for him would be to give it another go and after two seasons he can still make a decision."
Song's cousin and former player Rigobert Song said the former Arsenal man was not happy with his situation at Barcelona.
"Barcelona put so much effort into signing him last summer, and Alex turned down many great teams in order to sign with them," Rigobert told Calciomercato.
"Alex is not happy (at Barcelona). At Arsenal he was a leader on and off the field, he doesn't feel like the protagonist in Spain, it makes him feel bad.
"He still has a long contract, until 2017. I do not think moving away is the right choice. All players want to play all the time but in Barcelona it is not easy.
"Alex must have patience. His time will come because he has the qualities to do well."
Arsenal are looking to sign a defensive midfielder, and while Song was Arsenal's most defensive-minded midfielder, he was far from being a purely defensive one, leaving the back-four exposed on quite a few occasions with his forays forward.
The likes of Etienne Capoue, Victor Wanyama and Lars Bender have been linked with a move and signing one of them to add more solidity to the midfield would be the better option, allowing the more attack-minded players to bomb forward without any worries.
