Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood has claimed that he has no knowledge of a possible takeover of the North London club by a Middle East consortium.

It had been speculated that a £1.5bn takeover could be in the pipeline for the Gunners, but Hill-Wood believes that majority shareholders Stan Kroenke and Alisher Usmanov are unwilling to sell their stakes.

"I have heard nothing and I don't think anybody knows anything about it at the club," The Express quotes Hill-Wood as saying. "It all seems a bit of a waste of time.

"If there is this consortium, they can't make any progress unless they attempt to get in touch. So I can't say if there is anything to it or not. But even if they did make an approach, my understanding is our two major shareholders do not want to sell."

Meanwhile, the Gunners have been tipped to crash out of the Champions League against Bayern Munich next week, and they are currently placed five points away from fourth position in the Premier League table.