Sao Paulo have announced they want to buy Arsenal midfielder Denilson.

The 24 year-old Brazilian has been playing on-loan at Sao Paulo for the past 18 months.

"I believe that we will reach an agreement with Arsenal. We have heard from Denilson that he did not want to return to England, he wants to stay here with us," Sao Paulo vice-president Joao Paulo de Jesus Lopes told UOL.

"I believe that our relationship with Arsenal will help to make it so."