Former Manchester City player Denis Suarez has debunked claims he will be making a move back to Barcelona having struggled since he made a loan move to Arsenal in January.
He has been reduced to just six substitute appearances in both the League and Europa League since he arrived and there are have been speculations he could be set to return to Barcelona this summer.
Manager Unai Emery has instead opted to start the likes of Mesut Ozil, Aaron Ramsey, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Alex Iwobi ahead of him, leading to The Sun reporting that the former Paris Saint-Germain boss is preparing to cancel the loan agreement.
However he has refuted those claims by posting on photo of himself smiling in training with the caption ” Let’s keep them talking”. Adding text to a photo of the player in training during the international break, Suarez wrote: “Back on training with [smile emoji]. Let them keep talking [finger to lips emoji].”
One of Suarez’s rivals for a starting berth has been playing more regularly recently, with Ozil having started both Europa League last-16 games against Rennes and the 2-0 victory over Manchester United.
Speaking to the club’s official website, Nacho Monreal was full of praise for the German, and insists that opposition teams are more cautious of facing the Gunners when he is in the line-up.
He said: “Mesut had some small problems and he missed a few games, but he’s with the team again and he’s fighting.
“If you see him training or playing you can see that he’s completely committed to the team and that’s really good. “He’s very important for us and he’s a top-quality player. He helps us a lot with assists and scoring goals.
“When the other teams see him on the pitch, they say, ‘Oh Mesut is here, we need to be careful’ so he’s an important player.” Having missed parts of the season through injury and lack of form, Monreal has started to feature more prominently under Emery of late and says he will continue to give his all for the club.
“This season has been a bit different for me because it’s been the first one when I’ve had a few injuries in a row and I’ve missed a lot of games,” he said. “I lost my form over the last few months, but now I’m back I’ve started to feel better again. The team is happy and lucky to have two left-backs who try to help the team.
“I’m really happy with my past performances, but as I’ve said, I just try to give my best every single day, every single training session and every game. I try to help and I’m happy doing that.”
Next up for the Gunners is a home meeting with Newcastle after the international break, with Arsenal currently fourth in the Premier League table, two points ahead of Manchester United.