Arsene Wenger poured cold water on talks linking Arsenal with a move for Didier Drogba.
Reports a couple of days back said that the Gunners were interested in bringing back the former Chelsea striker back to the English Premier League, after turmoil at his current club Shanghai Shenhua, led to suggestions Drogba would be forced to leave China.
The Ivory Coast international only made his move to Shenhua this summer, after leaving Chelsea at the end of the season. If any club were to offer the striker a contract, they would have to match or at least come close to the £200,000 a week ($322,000) he earns with the Chinese club, unless of course, he gets a huge pay off from Shenhua.
The likelihood of Drogba joining a rival club of Chelsea is also extremely slim, and at 34, is not exactly the kind of signing normally associated with Wenger.
Drogba's UK management company played down suggestions of a move away from Shenhua, soon after the reports came out, with Real Madrid and Liverpool also being touted as possible destinations.
The Arsenal manager, however, insisted he was not in the market for the striker that caused so many problems for his side over the last eight years.
"At the moment no. In my opinion he is not free," Wenger said. "He has just left England.
"I don't know about the situation because he came out with a completely different statement.
"You hear he might go to Real Madrid -- but then he says 'I am staying in China'. Is it just because he wants to be paid off? I don't know."
Real Madrid, right now, looks like the most likely club, if Drogba were to leave Shanghai, with Jose Mourinho a huge admirer of the forward's talents, having worked with him at Stamford Bridge for many years.
