Report: CL side keen on Arsenal defender; Arteta wants £13.7m

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Arsenal have started the season brilliantly, winning their first two league games. The positivity around the Emirates is high but there’s still a lot of work to be done in terms of transfers.

Mikel Arteta is desperate to add at least one midfielder to his squad before the transfer window closes. However, to achieve that the Gunners need to offload a few players first, and their defence is one area where there are too many options.

Arsenal currently have eight first-team central defenders. William Saliba, David Luiz, Gabriel Magalhaes, Pablo Mari, Shkodran Mustafi, Rob Holding, Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Calum Chambers are all options for Arteta when fit, while Dinos Mavropanos will join the squad at the end of his loan spell next summer.

Arsenal need to free up space in the squad while easing pressure on their wage bill. At least two centre-halves will have to be sold before the end of the window, and it looks as though one of them is attracting serious interest.

Lazio considering Mustafi move

Corriere dello Sport claims Serie A side Lazio are interested in signing Mustafi this summer. The German has come in for criticism from fans and pundits but his form under Arteta was impressive before his injury.

Mustafi is still a few weeks from full fitness. The former Valencia man missed the FA Cup final as well as the Community Shield through injury, but could he have already played his last game for the Gunners?

The report claims Arsenal are prepared to let him leave if they get a fee in the region of £13.7 million. That’s a more than £22 million drop from the fee they paid to sign him from Valencia in summer 2016 (BBC).

Mustafi’s chances of regular game time look slim at the moment. Luiz and Gabriel will be first-choice starters for the Gunners, while Kieran Tierney has done well on the left side of the back three.

A return to Italy to play in the Champions League could be a tempting option for the German. Arsenal could do with the money to secure other targets but Mustafi’s injury could scupper a potential move.