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Barcelona defender Samuel Umtiti is adamant he has no plans to cut short his time at the Camp Nou. The France international, who has made 98 appearances for the Catalan giants since his arrival from Lyon, was linked with a move to Premier League outfit Arsenal over the summer.
Gerard Pique and Clement Lenglet have been preferred by manager Ernesto Valverde in the heart of the Barca defence, with Umtiti yet to make a start this season.
Related: Umtiti Named Man Of The Match In France Win Vs Belgium
However, the 25-year-old has insisted he is happy with life at the La Liga champions and says he had no interest in leaving the club to join Unai Emery’s squad at the Emirates over the summer window.
He told Canal Football Club: “Honestly, I don’t know where this rumour with Arsenal came from. Overnight, I received messages from my friends ‘ah, so you are joining Arsenal?’ I’m not, I’m sorry, but I’m staying at Barcelona.
“Contacts with Arsenal? To be honest, I don’t know if they had conversations with my agent, I just told him that I didn’t care what was happening this summer and that it wasn’t even necessary to talk to me about it. It was useless, I was going to have the same answer.
“My dream as a child is to play for Barcelona. Last season was the most difficult of my career, especially in terms of injuries.”
Barca are next in action after the international break on Saturday when they host Valencia in La Liga.
