The Bulgarian teen was due to sign with Livorno in the afternoon, but red-tape stalled the deal and a flurry of faxes between the two clubs were carrying on beyond the midnight transfer deadline.

If the Lega authorities fail to rubberstamp the deal, Livorno will seek to set up a pre-contract with Lokomotiv ahead of signing Genkov in the summer.

"We had taken Genkov, a Bulgarian boy of great promise," said Spinelli. "The government of his country had even made available a private jet in order for him to get to Italy in time for his transfer, but in flight over Belgrade it was denied permission to make its aerial transit and so missed our deadline.

"They told me he was crying with disappointment, but we have reassured him that we'll be back and told him to stay calm."

The Lokomotiv Sofia striker is being tracked by the Gunners leading up to the summer market.

Genkov should have signed for Livorno on transfer deadline day last month, but flight delays saw the deal collapse and left the youngster in tears.