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Arsenal defender Shkodran Mustafi has been linked with a move to AS Monaco.
The German international who joined the club from Valencia three years ago for a fee of £35 million is under contract at Arsenal until 2021. However, fiercely criticised by the club’s fans for a string of catastrophic defensive mistakes, he has become something of a talisman for the club’s recent woes.
His manager Unai Emery has been one of his staunchest supporters, but even he now has accepted that it would be best if he leaves the club, either permanently, or on loan.
Now Monaco may be ready to offer both player and club a way out by offering a £27 million deal for the central defender.
Whilst his departure will be very welcome to many Arsenal supporters, it does leave the club with a defensive dilemma, with Laurent Koscielny unlikely to play for the team again after his strike action, and Rob Holding not set to return from injury until September.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.