[BBC] Defender Wants Arsenal Move But Deal Held Up Due To Possible Striker Signing

The summer transfer window is in full swing so we’ll bring you all the latest transfer rumours and gossip from around the globe. Today, more on Arsenal’s centre-back search….

Shkodran Mustafi remains keen on completing a move to Arsenal but we’re struggling to agree a fee with Valencia as Arsene Wenger is holding back funds for a possible striker signing, according to BBC journalist David Ornstein.

A new centre-back remains a priority for Wenger after Gabriel was ruled out for up to eight weeks with an ankle injury with the Brazilian international joining Per Mertesacker on the treatment table.

Mustafi has emerged as a key target in recent weeks with Sky Sports News claiming last week that the 24-year-old had agreed personal terms with Arsenal as we continued to negotiate a potential £30m deal with Valencia.

However, here we are five days later and we’ve yet to find an agreement with the Spanish outfit and BBC journalist David Ornstein claims that while Mustafi is keen on joining Arsenal, the club are reluctant to spend too much on a defender as we’re holding back money for our striker search.

Wenger is also desperate to bring in a top class front-man before the window closes and it seems the boss doesn’t want to designate too much of his remaining budget on a centre-back and leave him short for a potential striker deal later in the window.

With that in mind, Ornstein claims that while Mustafi remains the priority, Arsenal are now considering moves for either Bayer Leverkusen defender Omer Toprak or Fenerbache’s Simon Kjaer as cheaper alternative’s to the German international.

Toprak has been a rock for Leverkusen since joining the club from Freiburg in 2011 while the 27-year-old has also become a key player for Turkey and represented his country at this summers European Championship finals in France.

Kjaer is probably a more familiar name for many fans as he’s been linked with Arsenal in the past and we were credited with an interest in the Danish international before he joined Fenerbache from Lille last summer.

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Both players are likely to cost considerably less than Mustafi which would leave Wenger more money to put towards signing a top class striker, so it seems that unless Valencia lower their valuation we might be about to move on to other targets.

It’s certainly gearing up to be a fascinating final two weeks of the window but the important thing is we manage to bring in a centre-back and a striker before the window slams shut, or this could turn out to be a very long season indeed.

Arsenal yet to agree fee for Mustafi. #AFC considering Omer Toprak & Simon Kjaer as alternatives but Mustafi remains priority & keen to join

— David Ornstein (@bbcsport_david) August 15, 2016

Price the issue. Arsenal want to hold back funds for possible striker signing. #AFC transfer budget factors in fee, salary, agent commission

— David Ornstein (@bbcsport_david) August 15, 2016