Unai Emery admits Arsenal defender can leave the club this summer
Arsenal boss Unai Emery has admitted that he has already held talks with defender Shkodran Mustafi in which he has told the German to consider a fresh challenge away from the club.
The Germany international has been with the Gunners for the past three seasons and during this period, he has been able to accumulate 115 appearances across all competitions.
Despite this, he has not been able to win over the large section of the supporters with his inability to eliminate the flaws in his game, and it appears that he has been offered with the chance to move elsewhere.
In an interview with Sky Sports News, Emery acknowledged that he has had a number of conversations with the former Valencia man and the defender is free to part ways with the club before the transfer deadline in other European leagues.
However, he added that the 2014 World Cup winner remains a good player and he won’t have any concerns over utilising the German’s services when required on the playing field.
He said: “I spoke with him when we finished last season. I spoke with him when we started pre-season and I spoke with him also two weeks ago saying maybe there was the possibility he can leave. But I don’t have doubts if he needs to play because he is a good player.”
Mustafi found himself behind the likes of Calum Chambers and Sokratis Papatathopoulos in the pecking order for the central defensive role in pre-season, and he is likely to face further competition with the recruitment of David Luiz from Chelsea.
Elsewhere, Rob Holding is also fast-tracking his return to first-team action after a long-term knee injury and it appears the best thing for both the Gunners and Mustafi, if an agreement can be reached for his departure from the Emirates.
The transfer deadline for the English sides may have passed on Thursday but Mustafi could yet join an overseas European outfit. The transfer window in Spain, Germany and France closes on September 2 while it’s two weeks earlier for Italy on August 18.
