Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is close to ending his search for a central defender and striker, saying Friday the club is working on deals to sign Shkodran Mustafi from Valencia and Lucas Perez from Deportivo La Coruna.
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Despite scoring 17 goals last season, Perez was dismissed in the reports by several scouts as not being at Arsenal’s level and he was well down their list of potential signings. Wenger had made it clear that he is looking to sign another defender and a forward before the close of the transfer window, which saw the club linked with a number of players.
Amidst all the transfer madness and tension at Arsenal regarding Wenger’s transfer methods, former Arsenal skipper Tony Adams has revealed that he would like to return to Arsenal in a managerial role in the future. “I’m 99 per cent confident”.
“It looks like it will be frenetic for me in the last three days”.
“But you will see how many transfers will happen in the next three or four days, it will be fantastic, maybe the biggest amount ever”. They will integrate into the team now and we will help them join the squad.
Wenger added to Sky Sports: “We have bought two players – Mustafi and Perez”.
The 27-year-old Perez scored 17 league goals in 36 appearances for Deportivo last season, whereas Valencia’s 24-year-old Mustafi is a German worldwide centre-back with 12 caps to his name.
‘I met some people in the VIP rooms before games but it is not the best place to do deals but that is why it was very late, it is not ideal for us’.
Perez may not be the big name striker fans have been hoping for but he has been compared to Jamie Vardy – who we missed out on earlier in the summer – so it appears Arsene Wenger has found a like-for-like alternative. It is a good test for us to play PSG.
“Maybe PSG is one of the favourites but we want to finish first”. I expect the next three days to be very, very busy.
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According to Sky sources, Perez will now undergo a medical and discuss personal terms before the move can be finalised. “I think it’s not easy and it shows some great potential and I am convinced that he will give a fight to all the centre backs”.
