Arsene Wenger has confirmed that Arsenal have signed Deportivo de La Coruna striker Lucas Perez and Valencia defender Shkodran Mustafi.
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Arsenal are reportedly closing in on the signing of Valencia defender Shkodran Mustafi, and certain statistics paint a positive picture for the club.
Both players still need to undergo medicals, which could take place in London on Friday. “We are not close enough to announce today that they will sign for us”.
Mustafi and Perez are expected to complete Wenger’s transfer business in terms of incomings, but the Arsenal boss predicted a very busy end to the window for other Premier League clubs. “I am 99 per cent confident”, he said.
Should both players complete their transfers, Arsenal’s spending for the close season will be close to 110 million euros.
The Gunners have signed three players this summer, bringing in holding midfielder Granit Xhaka from Borussia Monchengladbach, forward Takuma Asano from Sanfrecce Hiroshima and centre-back Rob Holding from Bolton.
“Am I the face of somebody who does a panic buy?” a relaxed Wenger said in a briefing with reporters. I have a decision to make in the next 24 hours.
Commenting on the difficulty of signing players, Wenger added: “It was a odd transfer market”.
The Frenchman has received criticism in some quarters over a perceived reluctance to spend big in the transfer market, but Wenger reiterated that his main priority is getting the best deal for Arsenal. “Because not a lot has happened”.
“Everybody has sat on their pounds until now”.
“We don’t just want Mesut to give assists – we want him to score too, so I’m very happy”, he said. Could he go out and play on loan?
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I’d imagine “integrating them into the squad” means you shouldn’t expect the pair to start immediately after the global break, but hey, who knows?
