Arsenal on the verge of signing a perfect partner for Koscielny, not Mustafi

After Per Mertesacker’s injury and subsequent surgery, we then lost Gabriel to an injury against Manchester City this weekend, meaning Laurent Koscielny (who is also missing against Liverpool this weekend) is left as our only senior centre-back.

There are rumours floating around this evening that we are showing a keen interested in West Brom’s Jonny Evans as a Plan B if our interest in Valencia defender Shkodran Mustafi falls through according to a report in The Mirror.

It’s also being said tonight, the deal for Mustafi could be rushed through to get the German in time for our first league game of the season against Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool at 4pm this Sunday.

Also, it’s being tweeted that Chelsea are no longer interested in signing the player, leaving Arsene Wenger an free run to his signature and another formal bid could be submitted tomorrow (Tuesday) according to a report from Italy. There are also rumours that Leicester’s Riyad Mahrez could yet be coming to London, but sadly to join Chelsea and not Arsenal, a move sure to frustrate Arsenal fans, who are becoming increasingly desperate for some big names to replace our injured players or players who could improve our squad.

It’s been further reported that should we fail to agree a fee with Valencia for our main centre-back target, Mustafi, West Brom will be willing to sell Evans in a deal worth just £15m. Many Arsenal fans will be seeing Jonny Evans as a poor alternative to Mustafi, but if Wenger does make a desperate move for the ex-Man United player, he comes with bags of Premier League experience – let’s just hope he doesn’t follow in the footsteps of Silvestre…

Published: 8th August 2016 : 23:20pm