Arsenal Say No Deal Done With Former City Star Balotelli

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has ruled out rumours of a deal to bring AC Milan striker Mario Balotelli to the Emirates Stadium.

The former Manchester City star -- whose World Cup duty with Italy is over after his side were eliminated at the group stage -- was Milan's top goal scorer last season finishing with an impressive 14 goals and six assists in 30 league games.

Reports recently suggested that the Gunners had stepped up their interest in the player with a £25m bid with Wenger's top priority this summer supposedly to land a world-class striker to share the load with Olivier Giroud.

Earlier in the week it was reported that the striker's agent Mino Raiola was meeting Arsenal representatives regarding a return to the Premier League and quoted as saying "anything is possible".

Balotelli played down talk insisting at the time that he was only focused on the World Cup.

However, Wenger -- who has always been an admirer of the Serie A forward -- as insisted that it is was not true that an agreement to sign the 23-year-old had been reached.

"We cannot believe absolutely everything that is on the internet or in the papers. Sometimes it is created by agents or by press who need news. But in this case, it is not true," he told beIN Sport.

Meanwhile, Giroud is confident Arsenal will bring in a new striker.

"I can tell you Arsenal will add a striker to the team. We need another striker. Great clubs have several good strikers, who compete with each other," Giroud told Sky Sports.