An Instagram pic of Benzema in what appeared to be a private jet sparked rumors of an Arsenal switch. That all appears to be over now, however.

Despite being Real Madrid’s main and only senior striker, rumors continue to link French goalscorer Karim Benzema with a move to Arsenal, in similar fashion to the transfer that saw Mesut Ozil arrive at the Emirates two seasons back.

The attacker is yet to receive assurance from new manager Rafael Benitez over his role in the squad, with reports claiming the Spanish manager may shift Cristiano Ronaldo from a winger to a forward, leaving little space for 27-year-old in the starting XI.

Benzema’s agent looked to have killed all speculation of a Bernabeu exit last week when he revealed that the former Lyon man “will be a Real Madrid player by the end of this transfer window, 1,000 per cent”, but a recent Instagram post by the Frenchman rekindled talks of an Arsenal switch.

The Blancos ace posted a picture of himself in what appeared to be a private jet, with the caption: "Leave the past to the past. #directionfuture", one which many Arsenal fans took as a cryptic message of an imminent north London arrival.

 

Laissons le passé au passé.. #rip #directionturfu

A photo posted by Karim Benzema (@karimbenzema) on


Fast forward to Wednesday, however, and compatriot Raphael Varane has ended any thought of his Les Blues team-mate swapping Les Merengues for the Gunners with a post on Facebook.

The Real Madrid center-back posted a picture of himself, alongside Benzema and Luka Modric via his official account, with the hashtags #Shanghai and #RMTour2015, which proves Karim IS NOT in London.

Hola a todos ! Hello tout le monde ! #Shanghai #RMTour2015 #TeamVarane

Posted by Raphaël Varane on Wednesday, July 29, 2015

What does this mean for Benzema and his future in Spain? All we know is this will not be the last we hear of the Benzema-to-Arsenal rumors.