After his masterclass in idiocy against Crystal Palace on Sunday, Arsenal fans will be relieved to know that Roma are willing to take Mohamed Elneny or Shkodran Mustafi in exchange for Steven N’Zonzi according to a report from Italy.
On the face of it, this seems like a good idea. Arsenal would get rid of one or two players they don’t want and bring in a man who is a clear favourite of Unai Emery’s.
According to a report in Calciomercatonews, Roma are considering selling N’Zozi whom they say has ‘not convinced’ and is ‘ready to go’.
N’Zonzi cost Roma €30m in the summer but has failed to make the same sort of impact as he had in Spain. Reports claim he has not settled in Rome and has put in performances ‘below his potential’.
Roma are interested in both Elneny and Mustafi, one of whom seems destined for the door as soon as the window opens. As much as Arsenal fans would like to see Mustafi also leave, the player has been one of the most-used by Emery this season.
While a lot of that is down to injuries to others, Emery does seem to like him and it’s hard to see Arsenal coming close to recouping anything like the £36.9m they spent on him in 2016 should they let the 26-year-old leave this summer.