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What's the story?
Inter Milan are keen on adding more strength to their backline and are interested in signing Skhrodan Mustafi of Arsenal, according to The Daily Mirror. The Nerazzurri want Mustafi on a season-long loan with an option to make it a permanent £20m-plus deal.
The Serie A giants reportedly believe they can pull it off with just about a week left in the window.
In case you didn't know...
The German international joined Arsenal in the summer of 2016 on a £35m deal. Mustafi started off his Arsenal career on a high but picked up an injury in December.
And since that happened, he has found it difficult to get back to his best. He made a return to the Arsenal line-up this past Saturday against Stoke. The Gunners lost the match and this has further pushed Mustafi's future into contention.
The heart of the matter
Arsene Wenger has had a lot of dead weight lying around and he has been on a mission to overhaul his squad. He sold Gabriel to Valencia on a £10m deal. Calum Chambers, another defender, was heavily linked with a move away from Emirates but has now been asked to stay put.
This could mean that Arsenal will let another defender leave because they have been struggling to clear out the squad. The Emirates outfit wants to free up their payroll if they're to make any more signings this summer. The club has been keeping tabs on Liverpool target and Southampton defender Virgil Van Dijk but a deal is unlikely to materialize.
Arsenal who are still keen on signing Thomas Lemar from AS Monaco has seen the deal getting stalled because of their hefty wage bill.
Arsene Wenger's defensive woes are still about in circulation and they've already conceded 4 goals from their first two matches.
Arsenal have tried to dismiss Inter's interest in Mustafi but the Nerazzurri are unrelenting. It has been claimed that the murmur in the Gunners' dressing room is that the German might leave.
Neither Arsenal nor Inter Milan are playing in the Champions League. Therefore, from Mustafi's perspective, there are no real pointers either way.
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Author's take
Mustafi was impressive during the first few months at Arsenal. But after picking up an injury, he has not been able to rediscover the same kind of form. However, it might be too early to give up on a 25-year-old defender who has shown that he is capable of being up to the task, albeit, inconsistently.
With only a few days left in the transfer window, Arsene Wenger needs to weigh his options and the possibility of acquiring a new player before he lets Inter have their way.
