£90,000-a-week defender will leave Arsenal during the summer

Shkodran Mustafi will leave the London giants for free at the end of this campaign after he was denied a move away from the club this month. Germany international has fallen down the pecking order at Arsenal and he has only six months left on his current Arsenal deal.

 

Shkodran is one of the footballers who returned to form on the appointment of Mikel Arteta as the Spanish boss last campaign. His fine form meant that it would make sense for him to be rewarded with a new contract, however, Mustafi rejected a new deal offer from the club.

Arsenal can try to offload him this month and make some money from his sale, but the Spanish manager has denied him a move away from the club. While the Gunners had too many defenders at the start of the campaign, the recent departure of William Saliba and Sead Kolasinac has left them thin in that department.

David Luiz has also just suffered an injury, which means that the Gunners will need a centre-back that can cover in his absence. Mikel Arteta wants him to stay an option alongside the likes of Gabriel Magalhaes, Pablo Mari and Rob Holding.

 

The German centre-back reportedly rejected a new deal in October with the defender said to be keen on a move to Italy. The 28-year-old centre-back joined the London giants from Valencia in 2016 and has played over 150 games for the club in five years.

The German defender has since fallen down the pecking order but injuries to several footballers and William Saliba’s loan to Nice means Mikel Arteta is determined to hold on to him for the rest of the season.