Yannick Carrasco misses Arsenal as tight transfer budget continues to haunt them

ARSENAL missed the signing of Yannick Carrasco with the Belgian star who is preparing to leave China to go to another club on the continent.

The Gunners had made the former Atletico Madrid midfielder Carrasco one of their main targets for transfers this summer.

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Unai Emery tried to revive his offer on the 25-year-old widower who could not agree on a contract to sign in January's transfer slot.

And Carrasco revealed in exclusivity last month how he was open to the possibility of moving to the UAE and playing Premier League football next season.

But SunSport has now figured out that Arsenal was out of the race for the Dalian Yifang, the Chinese Super League club claiming £ 30m for its services.

Emery was forced to plan a major overhaul of his team with a small budget this summer, and the Carrasco appraisal would do much of it in one contract.

This saw the Gunners not find the money needed to make a deal and Carrasco should now join another big European club.

STROKE

It's another blow for the London club, which must be tight in its money after missing the Champions League next season.

And that means Emery is about to miss out on two of the midfield players he's identified as summer recruits. Ryan Fraser should now stay in Bournemouth.

The Scottish international, who created more goals than any other Premier League player last season, was also in the line of sight of the Spaniard.

But the Cherries have remained firm by insisting that the 25-year-old will not be sold even though he is about to enter the last 12 months of his current contract with the club.

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The Gunners have lost Aaron Ramsey and Danny Welbeck to their team since the end of the season and are desperate to get Mesut Ozil's salary of £ 350 a week off their books.

But Emery knows that he needs to strengthen his defense and his midfield. With a transfer budget of only 40 million pounds sterling, it must operate in the best market conditions.

The club hopes to generate more funds by selling Shkodran Mustafi, while Lucas Torreira could be sacrificed, with AC Milan showing interest in bringing it back to Serie A.