Inter Milan may give up on signing Arsenal defender Shkodran Mustafi, as they’re now more interested in Atletico Madrid Jose Gimenez, according to latest reports.

According to reports in Italy, Inter have turned to Gimenez after failing to land Mustafi towards the end of the summer transfer window.

The Atletico Madrid defender has been linked to Arsenal in the past and is sure to have interest in his signature given he’s in the last year of his deal.

Some rumours suggest the main reason he hasn’t already left is because Atleti wouldn’t be able to replace him until January, when their transfer ban ends.

According to, Sky Sports, Mustafi had an agreement to leave Arsenal for Inter Milan this summer, while BBC Sport journalist David Ornstein claimed the 25-year-old asked for a transfer, which Arsenal were happy to sanction provided they could secure a replacement.

However, when no replacement was forthcoming, the Gunners couldn’t risk losing another potential first-team defender so the deal was off.

Now, with Gimenez potentially available on a free, while Arsenal won’t want to take a big hit on the £35m spent on Mustafi 12 months ago, it seems pretty clear what the better deal would be for Inter.

For Arsenal, this means dealing with the knowledge that they’re stuck with yet another player who wants to be somewhere else. Mustafi joins Hector Bellerín and Alexis Sanchez on the list of players who tried to move away from North London this summer.

Fans can only hope that the trio remain professional in training and on the pitch.