Arsenal were snubbed by Wigan Athletic goalkeeper Sam Tickle on summer transfer deadline day as he did not fancy joining them, according to the Sun.
The Gunners wanted to make the League One star their third-choice behind David Raya and Neto after losing Aaron Ramsdale to Southampton and sending Karl Hein on loan to Real Valladolid.
However, Tickle was not interested in dropping into the shadows, opting to carry on his development in the third tier instead.
Arsenal had been keen to find a home-grown third option between the sticks, and the Wigan star became an option after Wolverhampton Wanderers rejected a £50,000 bid for Daniel Bentley in July.
Tickle kept 18 clean sheets in 52 appearances last term. He was Wigan’s Player of the Season after helping them to a 12th-place finish in League One despite starting the campaign with an eight-point deduction.
Arsenal initially identified Espanyol starlet Joan Garcia as a potential replacement for Ramsdale, but the La Liga club insisted they had to trigger his £25 million release clause before a deal could be struck.
The Gunners went for Neto who joined on transfer deadline day, while summer signing Tommy Setford is set to step up to take the third-choice position.
The 18-year-old initially joined the Arsenal academy from Ajax but will now become part of the first-team set-up.
The England under-19 international cost Arsenal £850,000 and is seen as a future number one.
