Arsenal issued warning about signing Premier League Player !

Arsenal Issued Warning by Premier League Rivals Stoke City Amid Interest in England Goalkeeper

Arsenal have been given a "hands off" warning by league rivals Stoke City following reports the Gunners have identified goalkeeper Jack Butland as the long-term successor to Petr Cech at the Emirates.

​The Gunners - who were initially interested in Jordan Pickford before he joined Everton - are believed to have now turned their attention to the Potters' stopper with the intention of making a move at some point this summer or next. However, Stoke officials have met this week and established the plan that they do not want to sell the player.

The ​Stoke Sentinel claims that the club were prepared for stories such as this to emerge, but Thursday's transfer summit meeting between chairman Peter Coates, vice chairman John Coates, chief executive Tony Scholes and manager Mark Hughes is believed to have been the time where the position was established.

Butland is under contract at the bet365 Stadium through until 2021 after signing a new deal last year, and are under no pressure to sell. If a deal were to somehow be pulled off, Arsenal would likely be forced to pay top dollar to lure the 24-year-old to London.

The player's agent, Gary Mellor, however spoke recently about Butland's future wishes, and hinted that he would ​only be interested in leaving Stoke if it was to establish himself at one of the country's biggest clubs.

He said: "If Jack's going to leave Stoke it's going to be for a huge club, a club that's playing in the Champions League – and if that sort of club did come in for Jack I think Stoke would recognise that any player would want to go and play at the highest level they possibly can.

"But then Jack is in no hurry. He's come out quite publicly to say he is happy at Stoke City and he wants to win things at Stoke City.

"It's not something we have to be proactive with because every time he steps onto the pitch he just answers questions, like with England this week. Sometimes you look at his performances, like West Ham at home and in the second half at Southampton, and you wonder how good he can be.

"I am lucky enough to be old enough to have stood in the Boothen End behind Gordon Banks and I didn't think I'd ever get a goalkeeper like that again for Stoke City. I think we have, I place him that highly.

"He's special. We've thought he was special since he was 17 to be honest...but I am maybe a little biased."