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Fran Merida insists he has not yet held talks with any other club despite entering the final six months of his current deal at Arsenal.
The 19-year-old midfielder is free to listen to offers and has been strongly linked with a move back to his native Spain as Atletico Madrid are among those monitoring his situation closely.
Merida joined the Gunners from Barcelona in 2006 but has never started a Premier League game and made only 14 appearances for the club, the vast majority of which have come in the Carling Cup. Having made the same move from Barca as a 16-year-old, Cesc Fabregas quickly set about establishing himself as a first-team regular but Merida's rise has not been so impressive.
It is believed Merida's representatives are seeking assurances that he will play on a more regular basis and he is reluctant to go out on loan as he did when spending four months at Real Sociedad in 2008.
He said: "At the moment I am in talks with the boss. I told him I needed a bit of time - the first thing in my mind is definitely to stay here but I have to look at a few things first and we'll see how we progress.
"My agent and I are only talking to Arsenal at the moment, though, and nobody else - first of all I want to see how my situation looks here and then I'll decide what to do."
Manager Arsene Wenger rates Merida highly and is keen to tie him to a new deal but said: "We've not progressed and I'm concerned."
