Leroy Sane will reputedly not be ringing Mikel Arteta anytime soon as the former Manchester City player is said to no longer have his the Spanish coach's phone number.
Arteta and Sane spent three and a half years at City together after joining the club within a month of each other in the summer of 2016. During that time, City won the Premier League twice in consecutive seasons and claimed three domestic cups—two EFL Cups, beating Arsenal convincingly in the first of those finals, and one FA Cup.
Their exits from the Etihad Stadium also came close together. The Gunners appointed Arteta as then manager seven months before Bayern Munich signed Sane, the latter move ending a year-long transfer saga.
After signing a five-year contract with the German giants that summer, an extension has yet to materialise, therefore, the winger is approaching the final six months of his deal and can sign a pre-contract agreement with Premier League clubs in January. Arsenal and Manchester United are linked with the Germany international, the former being perceived to have the edge because of Arteta's history with the player.
However, Christian Falk, head of football at the German tabloid Bild , has played down that advantage in a column for the Daily Briefing . Notably, the journalist claims to have asked Sane whether he still had Arteta's phone number, to which he is said to have replied: "No".
Falk says they are not close and merely know each other rather than having any strong connection. The report also acknowledges the player's problems while at City, particularly concerning his mentality during training sessions.
Despite the links, there is reportedly no genuine interest from either Arsenal or Man United. Instead, at this stage, Falk believes Sane would agree a reduction on his reputed wages of over £300,000 to stay at Bayern.
The Bild journalist said: "With regard to Leroy Sane and a possible reunion with former Manchester City employee Mikel Arteta at Arsenal, some always thought, “Ah well, they know each other”, and so perhaps this could be a little like Vincent Kompany and Sane who played together.
"However, I’ve heard that the connection is not so strong. Leroy Sane always had a few problems at City because of his training mentality. So, Arteta and Sane are not so close.
"I’ve been asking Leroy if he still has Arteta’s mobile number and he said, ‘No.’ It’s not so big an advantage that they simply know each other."