Arsenal have opened talks to sign Valencia defender Shkodran Mustafi, transfer market expert Emanuele Giulianelli has revealed.
The Gunners are desperate to add a new defender to their squad after Per Mertesacker suffered a knee injury that is expected to keep him out for months.
The 24-year-old struggled for form at Everton but impressed in the Serie A at Sampdoria.
"Last week contacts between Arsenal and the agent of Shkodran Mustafi, German defender," Giulianelli wrote on Twitter.
In May, the German revealed that there was a possibility that he could leave the Spanish giants during the summer transfer window.
"I don't know. It might well be that a transfer will become an issue," Mustafi was quoted as saying by ESPN.
"But as long as I still develop I don't have to make a switch.
"I've played in in England, in Italy, in Spain and in Germany, and those are the leagues I would like to stay in.
"Principally I think: If you have always acted fair as a player, if you have performed well and caused no problems, it should not be a problem to say 'I want to leave and ask for a transfer.'"
