Wenger: Mustafi could leave

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has refused to rule out the departure of
central defender Shkodran Mustafi.

The 24 year old German international was a £35m signing from Valencia
a year ago.

However, speculation about his future has been rife in recent weeks,
with reports linking him with a move to Italian sides Inter Milan and
Juventus.

Arsene Wenger had the opportunity of strucking down those speculation
when he addressed the media on Thursday, but he didn't rule it out
when he refused to say for certain whether the German would be
staying.

"No, I don't expect …"

"It's difficult for me to speak about any individual cases, you know.

"We're now in the final seven days of the transfer market and it's
always very difficult to predict what will happen there.

"You have to make quick and sharp decisions and you cannot plan that
and come out in a press conference with how you will respond to any
solicitation."

The possibility of the German leaving would come as a surprise to many
followers of the club, particularly after the sale of Gabriel to
Valencia and the retirement of Per Mertesacker in a year's time.

If he leaves, the club would have to bring in a replacement with just
a week left of the transfer window as they would be short of numbers
in central defence with just Laurent Koscielny, Rob Holding, Calum
Chambers, Per Mertesacker and Nacho Monreal, with Sead Kolasinac able
to play there too.

It remains to be seen how this unfold in the next seven days.