'It's only rumours': Arsenal defender Shkodran Mustafi rubbishes exit talk

Arsenal defender Shkodran Mustafi insists he never considered leaving north London in the summer transfer window and has taken a swipe against the media for spreading "rumours" about his future with the Gunners.

Mustafi produced a marvellous defensive display against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday (18 November) to help Arsene Wenger's men claim a hard-fought victory over their bitter rivals and he even opened the scoring with a fine first-half header, albeit in slightly dubious circumstances.

The Germany international, whose appearance against Tottenham was his first in six weeks following a thigh injury, displayed his commitment to the Gunners' cause on the weekend but was heavily linked with a move away from Arsenal in the summer amid interest from Serie A outfit Inter Milan.

Wenger's side had no intention of parting with the World Cup winner in the summer; Gunners chief executive Ivan Gazidis recently confirmed that any suggestion of Arsenal's apparent desire to rid themselves of Mustafi was simply untrue.

The former Everton star was said to be open to leaving Arsenal just one year after joining from Valencia in the summer of 2016, but he saw fit to vent his frustration when quizzed about the subject and suggested that speculation surrounding him was reported "because it's boring if the paper is empty".

"You like to get the s***, the biggest s***," Mustafi told Goal. "That's your job. You are asking me about it, it's your job from the people outside, talking and thinking that they know everything.

"What happens in the changing room is the real thing. I don't understand why people just talk about things they cannot know about. If I have been talking to clubs or if I haven't, it's only rumours. Obviously there are so many newspapers, they need something to write because it's boring if the paper is empty. I'm standing in front of you in an Arsenal shirt."

Mustafi presumably won't be standing in an Arsenal shirt on Thursday when the Gunners travel to his homeland to face Koln in their penultimate Europa League group stage match. Wenger has used Europe's secondary club competition to field fringe players and young starlets, leaving the likes of Mustafi and co fresh for the rigours of the Premier League, which continues against high-flying Burnley at Turf Moor on Sunday.