Arsenal’s frustrating summer in the transfer market could soon be over as manager Arsène Wenger has confirmed that a double deal for forward Lucas Pérez and the defender Shkodran Mustafi is poised to go through.
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Wenger announced that deals have been struck after the Gunners’ 3-1 victory over Watford on Saturday. “He was Valencia’s captain last season and, if we get it done, we’ll have achieved what we wanted [this window]”.
But given the nature of this year’s transfer window, in which Arsenal have struggled to assert themselves, Wenger admitted that the club have had to “restart” with regards to their summer targets. “As for the match against Liverpool, you always do get some amusing results in the first game of the new season”.
Arsenal stuttered on their run at the 2015-16 Premier League title, with none of the oft-injured Gunners forwards able to muster a record as good as Perez’s.
The deals come after a summer of major frustration for Arsenal fans, though some are not satisfied with the pair – especially in the case of striker Perez – as they don’t have box office appeal.
They had already agreed to meet a 20m euro (£17.1m) clause to sign Deportivo La Coruna forward Perez, 27, who scored 17 goals in 37 games last season.
He’ll hope that Mustafi can play his part in making them a more solid defensive unit to help lead them to silverware this season, but time will tell as to how smart a move it proves to be. So much so that two Depor alumni figure prominently in lists of the Premier League’s worst ever panic buys.
Asked if signing a defender would affect Chambers’ future, Wenger said: “Future? No”.
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“He’s a late developer because he played in a different position”. “But my job is to make the right decisions, if that is exactly similar to the contract of the players and that maintains the supporters being happy – that is better still”. I think he has good link up qualities, good quality of receptions, good finishing qualities. I think what we’ve seen from him today is what we want from him, to give assists, but he is going to score goals.
