Unai Emery was pushing Arsenal to sign Real Madrid midfielder Lucas Vazquez in January.
Emery was sacked by the Gunners on Friday.
And El Confidencial says before his dismissal, Emery was counting on the Gunners trying again for Vazquez after failing to prise the winger away from Real Madrid last summer.
Emery was hoping to add the hard-running midfielder to his squad during the winter market.
At Real, Vazquez, currently recovering from injury, is rated highly by coach Zinedine Zidane.
