Arsenal transfer news: Shkodran Mustafi close to Gunners deal as Valencia admit: ‘We need to sell’

ARSENAL received a boost in their hunt for defensive reinforcements as Valencia director Garcia Pitarch revealed the Spanish side are under pressure to sell Shkodran Mustafi.

The Gunners were torn apart at the back on Sunday as they the inexperienced duo of 20-year-old Rob Holding and 21-year-old Calum Chambers lined up in central defence during the 4-3 home defeat against Liverpool.

Senior defenders Per Mertesacker and Gabriel are both out injured, and with Laurent Koscielny still not match fit after Euro 2016, Arsene Wenger has been looking to add German international Mustafi to his squad.

And the Arsenal boss is likely to step up his efforts after Pitarch revealed the La Liga side's financial problems to the Spanish media.

The Valencia chief said: "We’re above the FFP guidelines, that’s the reality, and as of today, the four players we’ve signed cannot be registered, meaning we need to reduce the cost in a significant manner to register the players and sign a centre-back, which is a priority in case one of the ones at our club leaves.

"Obviously, if they don’t leave, we can’t sign a new one not only because of financial restrictions, but also because it wouldn’t be logical to have five or six centre-backs.

"We need to continue with a reduced budget, but if there’s an exit, we need a new centre-back.

"Our capacity is very limited. We’ve signed one player on a free, one on a loan with a view to buy, Nani in good conditions and Medran as well because Madrid allowed it and the player decided to do so."

As SunSport reported on Monday, Arsenal are still haggling with Valencia over the fee for the 24-year-old and it looks unlikely that one will be struck before Saturday’s trip to Leicester.

Despite talks taking place for weeks, Wenger is refusing to be held to ransom by the Spanish outfit, although he remains confident of concluding the move prior to the transfer window closing at the end of this month.