Arsenal and Atletico Madrid made deadline day moves for Borussia Dortmund midfielder Marco Reus on Monday.
While reports of Arsenal tabling a €50 million offer were wide of the mark, given Reus' buyout clause remains €25 million, the Gunners joined Atletico in asking BVB about opening talks over a fee for the Germany international.
All enquiries, however, were referred to Reus' buyout clause - and so the deadline fell with the player still with BVB.
The concern for interested clubs, which also include Bayern Munich, is that for the next transfer window, the midfielder's buyout clause jumps to €35 million.
BVB are determined not to lose Reus without a fight and hope to open talks about an improved deal when he returns from international duty next week.
