I am starting to think that the Arsenal transfer rumours linking us with the Valencia and Germany defender Shkodran Mustafi might just be barking up the wrong tree. Either that or we are struggling to get the deal done because even before the bad news about Gabriel picking up what looks a serious injury, the Gunners were short at the back.
Now we are in a desperate situation and you would think that if Arsene Wenger really was going to sign Mustafi it would be now. So if it is not to be the classy German, who will the boss bring in to shore up our thinly stretched back line?
A report in The Mirror has put forward nine possible players and a few of them I like. Four of them, Winston Reid, Virgil Van Dijk, John Stones and Mamadou Sakho are already playing in the Premier League and I see that as a distinct advantage. The first three would not come cheap though, as Stones is very highly valued while the Southampton and West Ham stars are tied up to long term contracts.
The Liverpool defender may be easier to get after he fell out with Jurgen Klopp and he has played with Koscielny for France, but I am personally not a big fan. One EPL star not on the list is the Swansea captain Ashley Williams and we have been linked with him a number of times.
The other five players suggested by the paper are Antonio Rudiger the 23-year old of Roma, Kalidou Koulibaly, the 25-year old Napoli star linked with Chelsea, Jonathan Tah the 20-year old from Bayer Leverkusen, Lazio’s Dutchman Stefan De Vrij and Javi Martinez of Bayern Munich.
Which of these, if any, would you like to see come to Arsenal?
Bob.