Gunners were hoping to be able to persuade Spanish champions to allow ex-Liverpool star to move to the capital.
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Arsenal have failed in an audacious attempt to sign FC Barcelona midfield player Javier Mascherano on transfer deadline day, according to reports in the Daily Mail.
It is understood that the north London club contacted their counterparts from Camp Nou to ask whether the experienced Argentina international was available to buy before the summer window closed for business for the year at midnight on Sept 2.
However, the response that the Gunners received from the Spanish champions is believed to have been immediate and short, with the Catalans rejecting the Premier League side’s advances out of hand.
Mascherano has only been with the club for the past three seasons now, after originally signing for Barca from Liverpool in August 2010 on a four-year deal for a fee of 24 million euros.
And in the intervening three-year period, the highly rated holding midfield player has appeared in a total of 143 matches for the Liga giants in all competitions, including 86 league games, during which time Mascherano has won two Liga titles and the Uefa Champions League.
But despite not always being a first-team regular in Catalonia, or even being utilised in his more favoured central midfield role either at the club, there was no way that Barcelona were ever going to allow the 29-year-old to move to the Emirates this season.