Arsenal are close to making their second big transfer of the summer as Shkodran Mustafi agrees to terms with the Londoners. According to the Daily Star the German international’s agent told reporters that his player is willing to move to the Emirates and that it is just a matter of time until he will be officially introduced at the Emirates. Even though few expected Wenger to act on the fact that Mertesacker and Gabriel Paulista are ruled out due to injury, it seems that the Frenchman is going to surprise everyone. Mustafi is under contract with Valencia until 2019 and is rumored to have a buy-out clause of around £40million which will not be triggered though. This is kind of the catch with this transfer. Even if the player’s agent publicly admitted the player and Arsenal are ready to work together, he did mention that all is left is for Valencia and The Londoners to agree as well.

It`s a big catch unfortunately and most Gooners know this. The price could be a deal breaker especially after seeing the summer pass by without any move on other big players aside from Xhaka. The good news is that Wenger might give in to the current market and meet Valencia’s expectations. The Frenchman said: “We have to follow the prices paid by other people. That has gone up because the availability of money is much higher.” It is expected that Valencia will let Shkodran Mustafi for around £20million or even less if Wenger finds a way to convince the Spanish side they will take an Arsenal player as a part of the deal.

Let’s stay on the positive side for the few hours and imagine Mustafi will indeed join Arsenal. It would be a boost for Wenger’s defense. With Mertesacker out for the rest of the year, it might mean he will slowly be phased out. His fellow compatriot will be an excellent replacement and a perfect fit next to Koscielny. He is 24-years-old, he has won the World Cup and he has had no major injury to deal with. He is consistent, experienced and probably very close to the peak of his career. Hopefully all goes well and even though it is unlikely to see Mustafi play for Arsenal this month, it will still be great to have him around this season and for the seasons to come.