Arsenal might even let Shkodran Mustafi leave on loan this season, in their continued attempts to get his wages off the books.

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 28: Shkodran Mustafi of Arsenal looks on during the Emirates Cup match between Arsenal and Olympique Lyonnais at the Emirates Stadium on July 28, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 28: Shkodran Mustafi of Arsenal looks on during the Emirates Cup match between Arsenal and Olympique Lyonnais at the Emirates Stadium on July 28, 2019, in London, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)

Daniel Cutts reports that Arsenal are trying to sell Mustafi before the end of the month, despite the closure of the English transfer window. The European windows remain open until the end of the month, so there’s still time.

The Standard previously reported that there has been interest in Mustafi from France and Germany, whilst more recent claims in Italy put AS Roma in the mix.

Most Arsenal fans will be aware that Mustafi was left out of Arsenal’s trip to Newcastle for their opening Premier League fixture at the weekend. Calum Chambers and Sokratis Papastathopoulos started the match, with David Luiz on the bench for cover.

The situation is only going to get worse for Mustafi, with Rob Holding playing his second u23 match on Monday as he approaches a full recovery.

Konstantinos Mavropanos is also still to return, and Nacho Monreal will be available centrally once Kieran Tierney is fit.

Then there are potential academy options like Zech Medley, Harry Clarke, Mark McGuinness and others. Arsenal can manage without Mustafi at this stage, and there seems little incentive to hold onto him just to run down his contract.