Friday 29 July 2016 18:44, UK
Arsenal are in talks to sign Valencia's Shkodran Mustafi, according to Sky Germany, but would he be the defender the Gunners need?
Wenger admitted last week that he needed to sign another centre-back, despite bringing in Rob Holding from Bolton, due to a long-term injury to Per Mertersacker.
No bids are thought so far to have been lodged but though Mustafi has a release clause of £42.1m Sky Germany understands that Arsenal may be able to sign the German for £25.3m plus a further £8.4m in add-ons.
So how would the Germany international fit in at the Emirates Stadium? We take a look...
Name: Shkodran Mustafi
Age: 24
Position: Defender
Nationality: German
Caps: 12
With Mertesacker set to miss five months of the season after picking up a knee injury in Arsenal's first pre-season friendly at Lens, Wenger is on the hunt for a central defender with experience.
Even before the Mertesacker news, many Arsenal fans were crying out for a new partner for Laurent Koscielny at the heart of the Gunners' defence.
Since joining the club from Villareal in January 2015, Gabriel has failed to force his way past Mertesacker in the pecking order and Calum Chambers is still seen as a work in progress. Holding has joined this summer but again, he will be seen as one for the future.
Wenger, who was thwarted in his bid to lure Jamie Vardy to north London, is still looking for another attacking option but with Mertesacker out until Christmas and Koscielny's pre-season preparation limited following Euro 2016, there's a pressing problem in the Gunners' backline.
Mustafi signed a five-year deal with Valencia in the summer of 2014 and has made more than 60 appearances for the club over two terms.
He ranked in La Liga's top 10 for interceptions, blocks and clearances last season but his interception stats make especially interesting reading.
Of the current crop at the Emirates, Koscielny is head and shoulders above the rest, making 127 interceptions from 33 games last season. Gabriel is next with 62 (21 games) ahead of Mertesacker, who made just 36 interceptions from 24 games.
But Mustafi could represent a real upgrade in this area of the game; he made even more interceptions than Koscielny - 133 - from 30 games last term.
Arsenal's struggles in the air are well documented and even at 6ft Mustafi is not the tallest of centre-backs.
A move to the Premier League will certainly test his aerial ability but stats from last season show the German is a decent operator in the air.
He won 73 per cent of his aerial duels in La Liga last term, according to Opta - a better percentage than both Koscielny and Gabriel managed in the Premier League.
As his 13 yellow cards in La Liga last season prove, Mustafi is not afraid of getting stuck in.
Opta data shows he made 51 tackles in La Liga last season at an average of 2.7 per game and averaged more tackles and interceptions combined (7.1) than any other player in La Liga last season.
Arsenal have often been criticised for having a soft centre in recent years but if they bring in Mustafi, who made the same number of tackles last season as Koscielny and Mertesacker combined, they could have potentially found a solution.
Mustafi already has experience of English football after he was snapped up as a teenager by Everton under David Moyes in 2009, turning down offers from Newcastle, Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund to spend three years at the Toffees' Finch Farm Academy.
"I think I'm an enormously strong-willed guy who never gives up," Mustafi said on joining the club. "I think I was made for the English league. I will fight as long as I have to and give everything I have until I eventually play in the top flight."
A senior debut did follow in December 2009 with Mustafi coming on as a substitute against BATE Borisov in a Europa League dead rubber but that proved to be his only first-team appearance as he struggled to make an impact at Goodison Park.
Mustafi admitted he was grateful to Moyes for sanctioning a move to Sampdoria - "I needed to play to grow up," he said - and it was while playing his trade in Italy that he made a breakthrough for his country.
Mustafi's still a young man but he already has experience on the international stage.
After representing Germany through the age groups, Mustafi was handed a first senior call-up by Joachim Low in February 2014.
He made his debut three months later, playing the full 90 minutes of a goalless draw with Poland before being named in Germany's provisional 30-man squad for the 2014 World Cup.
After initially not making the cut, he was called up as a replacement for Marco Reus, making two substitute appearances in the group stage. He started his country's round of 16 match but injury ended his own World Cup as Germany went on to claim the trophy.
Mustafi has since claimed 12 caps with the latest at Euro 2016 when he scored in his side's 2-0 win against Ukraine - a game he started at centre-back instead of Mats Hummels.
