Former Chelsea boss Antonio Conte will not entertain succeeding Mikel Arteta because of being unable to splash the cash at Arsenal, according to journalist Paul Brown.
Is Arteta under pressure at the Emirates Stadium?
Arteta was appointed as Arsenal's head coach in December 2019, replacing Unai Emery following his sacking.
Although he made a positive start to his Gunners reign by getting his hands on the FA Cup a matter of months later, the north London club have struggled to progress since.
Finishing eighth in the Premier League standings last season means Arsenal fans do not have European football to enjoy for the first time since 1995.
The Gunners also got the current campaign off to a slow start, recording the worst start to a term in their 118-year history.
Although the north Londoners have bounced back by registering back-to-back wins over Norwich City and Burnley following the international break, that has not stopped reports that Conte is on Arsenal's radar should they choose to dismiss Arteta.
What has Paul Brown said about the speculation?
Brown insists Conte would not be interested in succeeding Arteta due to the lack of funds available to improve the squad.
It comes after Arsenal were the biggest Premier League spenders in the recently-closed transfer window, parting with £156.8million.
Brown told GMS: "Antonio Conte wouldn't think twice about the Arsenal job right now.
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"He's someone who wants the club to spend money and he's been at clubs where they have spent money and it's still not been enough.
"Arsenal are just not in a position to appoint someone like that at the moment.
"They spent more money than anyone else in the last transfer window but it was all on players who are designed to grow and get better. It wasn't on the sort of players that Antonio Conte would want.
"Conte would be shopping for people like Romelu Lukaku."
Why would Arsenal want to bring Conte in?
He is a serial winner, having clinched the English and Italian top tier titles along with domestic cups in both countries.
Conte is currently out of work having left Inter by mutual consent just a matter of days after leading the club to the Serie A title last season.
The Italian was also in discussions with Arsenal's north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur over potentially being appointed as Jose Mourinho's successor during the summer but failed to agree terms with the club.