Dynamo Moscow manager Andrey Kobelev has revealed that the club turned down a loan bid from Arsenal for striker Aleksandr Kokorin during the summer.
The 24-year-old Russia international had been linked with a switch to the Emirates Stadium, with reports suggesting that a deal was close to being done.
Kobelev has hinted that a transfer could have gone through had Arsenal attempted to sign Kokorin on a permanent basis.
"I was among those who vetoed this deal," he told Sovetsky Sport. "We think that a loan move to Arsenal is a wrong option for Kokorin. He deserves better. Everyone is laughing, but he has a great potential, and the best coaches in the world see it.
"The point is that if a club pays good money for you, you are given time for adaptation. If a club invests a small sum, he can be benched after a couple of games and returned to his mother club.
"For example, if [Gareth] Bale was loaned to Real Madrid he wouldn't have become the Bale he is now, because it took him time to fit into the system. Kokorin deserves to play at a decent club, and he has to move there as a fully developed player who can deliver results."
Kokorin has scored 39 goals in 87 appearances for Dynamo.
Steven Toplis
