Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has squashed rumours which have linked AC Milan striker Mario Balotelli to Arsenal. 101 Great Goals have also featured the story as Wenger, who appeared on the beIN Sports World Cup show in Rio dismissed any suggested bid for Balotelli from the Gunners.

The news has also been confirmed by beIN Sports producer and pundit Matteo Bonetti who took to Twitter to voice Wenger’s thoughts

Arsene Wenger says on our beIN Sports WC show that Mario Balotelli to Arsenal is pure invention. Absolutely NO truth behind any of it

— Matteo Bonetti (@TheCalcioGuy) June 25, 2014

We had earlier reported that AC Milan Vice President Barbara Berlusconi had claimed that ‘nobody is irreplaceable’. Barbara, the daughter of owner Silvio Berlusconi had said, “Balotelli is a great player, but nobody is irreplaceable. We will see what happens.”

Balotelli’s agent Mino Raiola had also flirted with the rumours linking his client with a move away from San Siro saying, “Arsenal is a fantastic club and are one of the very few clubs who can afford to have Balotelli.”

Ruud Gullit who is also a pundit in the biEN Sports show also doesn’t value Balotelli as a team player.

Ruud Gullit: "Balotelli is not a team player. He's unmanageable."

— Matteo Bonetti (@TheCalcioGuy) June 25, 2014

Arsenal are in the transfer market for a quality striker and their needs up front are well highlighted after the Gunners timidly threw away their stronghold on the Premier League title race in the 2013-14 season.