Arsenal are reluctant to be drawn into a bidding war for Raheem Sterling and are likely to turn their attentions elsewhere if the fee remains at the £50million asking price.
Manchester City have become the first club to test Liverpool's resolve after making an offer of £25m plus a further £5m in add-ons.
That bid was flatly rejected by the Anfield club, who publicly remain determined to keep Sterling given he has two years left on his current contract.
However, with the player's representative adamant he will not sign an extension, Liverpool know they must sell this summer to maximise Sterling's market value, which they believe to be £50m.
Gunners boss Arsene Wenger has long been an admirer of Sterling's and was keen on signing him when he left Queens Park Rangers for Merseyside in 2010.
Wenger admitted after the FA Cup Final that Arsenal would not be bidding "stratospheric numbers" for players and with the club keen to strengthen other areas of the team, committing such vast resources - virtually their entire transfer budget- on one player is not considered viable.
That could change if Liverpool express an interest in a player-plus-cash exchange but Arsenal are yet to be informed this is the case, despite Brendan Rodgers monitoring Theo Walcott's contract negotiations with the Gunners.
