Arsenal turned their attention to Atletico Madrid defender, Jose Gimenez after talks with Valencia over Shkodran Mustafi stalled.
Arsenal had agreed terms with Mustafi but as of yet cannot agree a fee with the Spanish club. Reports emerged earlier this week that Arsenal were interested in signing Gimenez although the fee would likely be upwards of £45 million.
Sky Sports and La Liga pundit, Guillem Balague now reports that Atletico Madrid are confident that Arsenal won’t match Gimenez’s €65 million release clause.
Twitter: Gimenez and Arsenal. Atlético are not worried about him leaving as they know Arsenal will not pay his €65m clause. He will stay (@GuillemBalague)
It seems unlikely that Arsenal would pay such a large fee for a defender, especially considering that Mustafi would be a much cheaper option. Arsenal need to sign a defender as both Gabriel and Mertesacker are now out with injuries.
There isn’t that much time left in the transfer window and Arsenal are in need of a defender and a striker. The clock is ticking.
