The day is the 16th of August, Arsenal players are dropping likes flies as the season begins, and yet Arsène Wenger seems very reluctant (or unable?) to bring in fresh blood.
The story of the moment, as you well know, is whether Shkodran Mustafi will leave Valencia to join the London club, but the longer this goes on without any real progress reported, more and more panic is starting to set in amid The Gunners’ fanbase.
The official line a few days ago from Valencia was that no offer has been received and there is very little chance Mustafi will leave the Mestalla this summer.
On the other hand, the English media are adamant something is taking place at Arsenal, with reported bids of £28m being readied.
If you wanted a bit more clarification about what’s going on at the La Liga club, look no further than SuperDeporte, who have a transcript of Jesús García Pitarch’s, Valencia’s director of football, press conference regarding potential exits.
When asked about Mustafi, he said: “We’re above the FFP guidelines, that’s the reality, and as of today, the four players we’ve signed cannot be registered, meaning we need to reduce the cost in a significant manner to register the players and sign a centre-back, which is a priority in case one of the ones at our club leaves.
“Obviously, if they don’t leave, we can’t sign a new one not only because of financial restrictions, but also because it wouldn’t be logical to have five or six centre-backs. We need to continue with a reduced budget, but if there’s an exit, we need a new centre-back.
“Our capacity is very limited. We’ve signed one player on a free, one on a loan with a view to buy, Nani in good conditions and Medrán as well because Madrid allowed it and the player decided to do so.”
Now, whether the exit the director of football is talking about is Shkodran Mustafi or Aymen Abdennour, there’s no way of knowing, but both are of interest to Premier League clubs (Arsenal and Everton respectively), and one of them seems likely to leave.
Financially, Valencia probably hope it’s Mustafi, as we can’t see Abdennour bringing in the big bucks following last season’s performances.
