According to the BBC’s David Ornstein, Arsenal are still working on a deal to sign Shkodran Mustafi but could turn their attention elsewhere if negotiations with Valencia continue to stall.
The German international is understood to be keen on a move to the Emirates but with the Spanish side eager to rinse the Gunners for as much cash as possible, Arsene Wenger and Ivan Gazidis are exploring the possibility of moves for Bayer Leverkusen’s Omer Toprak and Fenerbahce’s Simon Kjaer.
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
Toprak, born in Germany to Turkish parents, is a 27-year-old Turkish international who started his youth career at lower league side Ravensburg before moving to Freiburg in 2005. In 2011 he sealed a move to Leverkusen where he’s been a regular over the last five seasons.
Kjaer, also 27, has lived a somewhat nomadic existence since coming to prominence as a teenager at FC Midtjylland. The Danish international moved to Palermo in 2008 and has since played for Wolfsburg, Roma and Lille before signing for Fenerbahce in 2015.
It remains to be seen whether this apparent widening of the net is just a means of forcing Valencia’s hand. What is clear is that after conceding four goals in the first game of the season, we definitely need defensive recruits as soon as possible.
As has been well documented, Arsenal are without Per Mertesacker until 2017 and also have Gabriel ruled out for another seven weeks.
Glad we’re trying to save money anyway..
So all those promises that Money is not a problem, Quality is, were all BS. Thank you for the double standards.
Maybe Gazidis was talking up his own wealth.
B*tches be listening..and he was keen to impress
“Money over everything”
-Arsenal Board featuring Ivan Gazidis
I believe AW will sign Kim Kalstrom.
YAG
Would prefer Mustafi out of the three to be honest. Toprak and Kjaer are both good players but I’m not convinced they’re Arsenal level quality beyond being squad rotation players. Mustafi signing would send a much more positive message to other summer targets too.
Oh just fuck off you penny pinching cunts
Mikael Silvestre anyone?
If Mustafi has been Identified as our no.1 CB target, and is deemed the best option…would you not rather spend the extra 3mil of whatever to seal a 28mil transfer, than spend 20+, but slightly less, on your no.2 or 3 targets? Baffles me really. I’ve never heard of Toprak and Kjaer was a target back when he went to Palermo instead of us I believe. I don’t know, but It seems we have the ability to be really shit at this transfer melark. I’m still hoping all this waiting and bs is because he’s been working on something big……Peter… Read more »
The funny thing is we will probably buy our back up options to save money for a striker….that we will not get.
Or Squillaci perhaps?
I put my money on Pascal Cygan again!
“Possible Striker Signing” must be what Stan calls his savings account.
A 170 million pound striker would be nice.
He would have to be a cross between Messi and Ronaldo, with 4 legs and 2 heads
Minus Ronaldo’s personality.
Because a hard working player who scores goals doesn’t fit arsenal’s requirement strategy.
We seem to prefer technically gifted, weak spirited players who can’t find the back of the net…
You did see the Euros final?? If after everything else, that doesn’t prove beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the man is a raging cunt, nothing will in the minds of some people. Awful human being. I’d rather we bought Costa and that transaction would test my loyalties like nothing else has.
Why? Because he wanted to win so badly? Are you trying to say that’s not exactly what we need?
Also if you look at the charity work he does then I’d guess he’s a better human being than you.
David “Vardy-expected-to-sign within-hours” Ornstein has hardly been a barometer of accuracy this summer. I’ll believe it when I see it.
To be fair to him, it would have been done in hours if Vardy hadn’t decided to do a U-turn.
He mostly has said nothing which has been 100% accurate
He has been very accurate
He hasn’t said anything
Nothing has happened
Anyone who follows English football and in particular The Arsenal knows that David Ornstein is perhaps the most reliable journalist when it comes to transfer rumours surrounding our club. I think the Vardy-turnaround was as unexpected for him as it was for the club.
The timing of Ornstein’s tweet is interesting. Would we have heard this if we beat Liverpool yesterday?
Ornstein never gives info out unless it comes directly from the club. I think this is designed to appease the fans. Releasing the info that the club is holding back funds to go after a striker. Gives the fans hope that a big name is on the way.
Also cud mean that a big name CB was not in the budget for this window until the injuries.
He was also the first one to say Vardy favouring Leicester stay
This is beyond a joke now, we are being made to look like idiots. Why would anyone in their right mind take our club seriously right now? I mean we shipped in 4 goals to a Liverpool team who didn’t have a recognised striker playing! And we are still ‘deliberating’ over a few million for a position we are desperately short in? By my calculations, that must mean the striker we are looking at will cost £80 million quid (let me get off the floor)? Do me a favour please and just get this done before things go from bad… Read more »
So, we are well on track. The urgency is quite apparent after the 4-3 loss and I think we will mostly sign a defender by early afternoon of 31st August instead of midnight.
31/08/2025
Hmm … guess we just have to wait and see what happens
“Possible” striker signing.
Good. We are saving for a possible target and we’ll eventually sign no-one-do-ski
Squillaci, come back, all is forgiven
Complete shit….thats what the people running the club are…
Arsenal are well managed. I’m proud!!
This is all a bit too hasty for me, I can’t keep up.
Unbelievable. Either we were lied to in the recent past (money is not the problem) or we are being lied to now (the need to hold back funds). In fact, the very best case scenario – assuming Ornsteins reports are accurate – is that this is some kind of bargaining ploy by Arsenal to get a better deal from Valencia. Cringe worthy.
I’ve been a firm Wenger support through thick and thin, yet as a sportsmen myself I find these recurring mistakes (both on the pitch and in the transfer market) so frustrating. I understand that the money players are going for now is ridiculous, but this is the reality of football now. When Wenger was a teenager, a pint of milk from the supermarket would have cost 5p; due to inflation this milk now costs £1.00. I’m sure Arsene doesn’t stand there saying “hmmm, this milk used to cost me a lot less, you know what, I won’t buy it. Instead… Read more »
Release the DEMOGORGON.
In upside down, Arsenal are spending freely.
Let’s just sign 11. She’ll win the league for us :p
FFS. Just give them the money! What’s the difference in payout for 4th vs 1st? We have the highest ticket prices in England. Tons of TV money on the way. A load of money in the bank. What the hell are we doing holding up a deal over a small percentage?!
Next week headlines: Arsenal look to Omer Toprak, and Simon Kjaer’s promising younger brothers as clubs fail to agree on who would pay for the flight to complete the medical, Fenerbache’s request for peanuts and a pillow believed to be the deal-breaker, players remain keen for some fucking reason. #AFC holding back cash for Messi bid.
Fucking brilliant mate. Got me in stitches
So Wenger mustafi a defender but would prefer one with a toprak!!!! Saucy ole git!!!
Really? We’re saving money for a striker signing? Given our current amount of cash, that had better be Aubameyang or Lewandowski, or we shouldn’t have any difficulty in signing both a striker and Mustafi. So yeah, sure, when one of those two walk through the door, I’ll accept that excuse, but until then..
I mentioned this before, both Cback and striker prices are linked. Which is the reason why we need to hold out for the best price possible not just pay any price in market currently. People just do not understand how the market works. Prices can come down at end of window should there be less alternatives for the player in question and the agents get desperate to move them on. I mentioned Wenger would be reluctant to move for prices higher than 40m for the striker because it would affect funds for the quality of Cback we can bring in.… Read more »
The reason we are desperate is because we fail to plan well. Considering your write up you are intelligent enough to know that when you enter the market in desperation you’ll be taken for a ride and the only reason you are in that situation is because you failed to plan ahead. Imo the club lacks ambition and doesn’t care to challenge at the highest level hence we are in this situation and have been for quite some years. Yes the prices now are insane but other clubs are identifying their targets and getting them. The way things are playing… Read more »
dunno why you’re getting thumbed down….we did play terribly but you’re right!
People just want to be pissed off and santori’s logic and sound arguments just get in the way.
I agree with all your points about the managers poor decisions but I think it is you who doesn’t understand how the market works. If you wait until the end, all the best players are gone and you’re left with rejects or if you want a first team player a) they know you’re desperate so the price goes up b) they have no time to find a replacement so want to be compensated for that too. It’s kind of like those hooker clubs in Dubai, you haggle and haggle and then at the end of the night all the hot… Read more »
This issue also plagued us some seasons ago when we had to hold off funds to secure Ozil at the end (largely because of the Bale issue dragging on in market) We could not sufficiently follow prices with Higuain because Wenger knew he had a target that was willing to come to us at end of the window but wasn’t sure at what price it may conclude. If we pay 25-30m for Mustafi say, we would have paid out 60m. It is highly unlike then that we could say afford a Draxler should his price say fall to 40m plus… Read more »
Arsene strikes me as the kind of guy who waits until the very end of those end of year sales and convinces his family if they wait until the last minute they’ll get a bargain 80″ ultra HD tv for 80% off and then expects them to be grateful when he returns home with a hot pink display model hello kitty donut maker.
Always the case, doing it at the wrong time and up bringing madiocres, who is Kjear and Toprak, Wenger remains his old self, never changing, recalcitrant,action of a fool. Let’s assume we have our defenders complete, does it mean Wenger would have depended on Per Metasaker who is increasingly deteriorating in speed,that is the issue, myopia, misery, stinginess yet claiming not to have found quality.Too bad that Wenger is obsessed and beclouded with his acclaimed success over a decadenow which has blinded him from seing the realty of present day foot ball. He must pay to get what we want,… Read more »
Who was Koscielny?
Please.
In any case better a defender of some experienced brought in than not.
Also ask yourself all these highly rated defenders we are suppose to pay over premium prices for as advocated by the media, who is Mangala?
Can we afford to absorb that sort of loss. It will pile up and have an effect on future transfer dynamics.;)
Can’t the arsenal fans in London organise a very serious protest/demonstration to send Wenger out of Arsenal? Wenger has made us arsenal fans a laughing stock to fans of other big teams over the years.pls those of you in London should be proactive and send Wenger out of Arsenal. Writing frm Nigeria.
When a protest was organized last season, some idiots where shouting one Arsene Wenger. That what you get when you support a fool as the manager.
It’s akin to starting an uprising against Bashar Al Assad mate.
Oh dear, kingso cannot handle being embarrassed. It’s the end of the world for him.
Grow up.
Just pay what the fucking selling clubs want you cheap bastards, you are turning this club into a laughing stock
Honestly…I’d rather buy Johnny Evans than either of these two ‘no name’ journeymen’…
He knows the league and the players. Champions League experience too.
Who are these bang average European players Wenger buys?!?
Taken out of context, these two wouldn’t be such bad signings. They aren’t worse than Gabriel at least. Depends on what kind of striker we bring in if we go for these cheaper options in defense.
We are like a doddery old fart, dithering in the reduced aisle ten minutes before Sunday closing time. We are an embarrassment.
After claiming his recruitment policy is only about quality which improves the team he wants to sign players who are probably squad rotation players at best just because of money.