Arsenal betting news
Home  »     »   A step in the right direction for Arsenal in their pursuit of a defender

A step in the right direction for Arsenal in their pursuit of a defender

| 18.08.2016

At last it looks like Arsenal are about to have some good news in this summer’s transfer market. After six frustrating weeks of seeing their club linked with what seemed like every name in football, Gunners fans could finally see long-time transfer target Shkodran Mustafi at the Emirates.

The Mirror are reporting this morning that Valencia chief Garcia Pitarch has admitted the club needs to sell some players in order to balance the books – and while he’ll desperately want to keep hold of his key defender Mustafi, his recent statement will read well for Arsenal.

Pitarch 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.”

So what does this mean for Arsenal and Valencia?

In short, Els Toranges need to sell at least four players in order to register their summer signings, and here’s a suggestion that a centre-back could leave – so with just four days to go until their new campaign begins, are they finally going to give in to Arsene Wenger’s perseverance?

Valencia value 24-year-old World Cup winner Mustafi at around £30m, while the Gunners boss is only willing to part with a figure closer to the £20m-mark – and that may be something the Spanish club have to accept given their current situation.

Though he’s faced criticism from numerous Gunners fans for his lack of activity in recent transfer windows, Wenger has brought in fan favourites Petr Cech, Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil over the past three years.

According to sources, personal terms between Mustafi and Arsenal have already been agreed, and the only thing keeping this deal from going ahead is the cost of the player – but with news breaking of a financial crisis at Valencia, it’s likely Wenger could come good again for the fourth consecutive summer window.

It’s unlikely a deal will be struck in time for Saturday’s trip to Leicester though, where Arsenal are 7/5 favourites to pick up their first three points of the season.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing

«
»

Author

Alex Apati

Alex has been with the Ladbrokes PR team since 2017 having previously worked for the news department. From sparring with Peter Fury to talking interviews on the Duke and Duchess' baby names, he's covered a range of sports and novelty events.

A frustrated West Brom fan who is no stranger to an oche, Alex is originally from Dudley, although he's worked hard to rid himself of the Black Country twang.