While most Arsenal fans think that Arsene Wenger should be a bit more carefree with the club´s money in the transfer market, especially when the need is as great as it is for us at the moment and the end of the window is getting worryingly close.
The Frenchman does not seem willing to do business the same way as most of our Premier League rivals, though, so we are left hoping that his way of doing things turns out to be successful. At the minute the prime target is surely an experienced centre back to cope with the long term absences through injury of Per Mertesacker and Gabriel and the Arsenal transfer rumours this week have been telling us that the deal for top target Shkodran Mustafi has been held up by our refusal to meet the price of his Spanish club Valencia.
Wenger may be on the verge of winning this battle, according to an Evening Standard report, as the German defender is training alone and that suggests that Valencia are keeping him on ice to make sure nothing scuppers the sale.
They do need the money, apparently, which may be why Wenger is sticking to his guns and refusing to be bullied into paying over the odds. If the deal does go through in the next week or two, will the Arsenal boss have been right in his approach or should he just have paid what Valencia wanted in the first place?
Bob.