It’s not so difficult to complete most transfers. Pay the money the club want and, if the player agrees, then he’s yours.
Arsenal may have left it a little longer with Mustafi, and ended up having to pay a little more, given that Valencia’s need for the money is now almost certainly less than their need for a competent central defensive partnership.
It’s been suggested Arsene Wenger was somewhat incompetent for not signing Mustafi earlier, but there’s every chance he wanted to make sure the player was fully recovered from injury.
Mustafi picked up a muscle problem before pre-season, triggered it again when returning to training, and was then on a slower road to starting the season.
If it hadn’t been for that then Mustafi would have started against Las Palmas on Monday, Valencia needed him, but he came on as a substitute. Given the criticism sent his way over injuries, there’s every chance Wenger was a little wary.
Anyway, that’s all in the past.
Plaza Deportiva say on Friday that Mustafi has been withdrawn from the Valencia squad and his move is imminent, and they even state the club’s manager said so: ‘‘like Ayestaran confessed in press conference’
