Arsenal have received a massive boost in their pursuit of Shkodran Mustafi with Valencia majority shareholder Peter Lim travelling to London himself to close a deal for the defender. The German international has been heavily linked with a move to the Gunners and is expected to complete a move to north London next week.

PlazaDeportiva reports that Lim will directly talk to Arsene wenger to conclude a deal for the defender and is expected to cross the reported €30m (£26m, $33m) fee which was being touted for the player.

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The 23-year-old has made 30 appearances for Valencia and will slot right into the Arsenal setup as he is known for his ability to play out from the back. The defender has spent a few years in England with Everton as a youth player and will want to establish himself as a regular in the Arsenal squad following the completion of his imminent move to the Emirates.

The Gunners are extremely light at the back, with injuries to Per Mertesacker and Gabriel ruling them out for the start of the season. Mertesacker is out till the end of the year with a knee injury while Gabriel will be out for six to eight weeks with a twisted ankle.

Laurent Koscielny is also unavailable for the opening few games of the season after being given an extended break following his exploits with France in the Euros. The Frenchman saw his team lose to Portugal in the finals and is back training with the squad alongside Olivier Giroud and Mesut Ozil, who were also involved till late in the competition.

Shkodran Mustafi
Shkodran Mustafi has been made available for transfer by Valencia with Arsenal showing interest Getty

Meanwhile, Arsene Wenger has revealed that he is still in the market to strengthen his squad but refused to shed any details on Mustafi when talking to the press ahead of their game against Liverpool.

"Today my focus is not too much on transfers because we have an important game in 48 hours and to win this game, transfers won't help us because we have a strong squad and have to deal with the game," the Arsenal boss told a pre-match press conference, according to The Mirror.

"We have lost three centre backs because Laurent Koscielny is also not ready and out of the game but I believe we are equipped to do well. Transfer wise, as soon as we do something we will inform you."

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