Arsenal's chase for Shkodran Mustafi seems to be going nowhere, with Valencia, again, insisting the Germany international will not be leaving the club this summer.
Speaking to reporters after Valencia's poor 4-2 defeat to Las Palmas in the La Liga on Monday, the manager Pako Ayestaran was adamant Mustafi would not be sold to Arsenal in this summer transfer window.
"Mustafi is not for sale and he will stay at Valencia," Ayestaran said.
That will come as a big blow to Arsenal, with Arsene Wenger desperate to add an experienced central defender to the squad before the transfer window closes on August 31. Mustafi is Arsenal's number one choice, with Wenger even confirming that the club were in negotiations with Valencia over the defender.
However, as far as Ayestaran is concerned, there is no way Mustafi or Paco Alcacer, the forward who has been linked with a move to Barcelona, is leaving Valencia.
"With Alcacer I can be as firm as with Mustafi, (Valencia president Chan) Lay Hoon already said it," Ayestaran added. "The president has said in public that Alcacer and Mustafi are not for sale and I have to believe her."
Mustafi did not start the match on Monday, coming on as a substitute.
Arsenal have been linked with other defenders as well, including Jonny Evans from West Brom, with the latest to be added to that list being Monaco's centre-back Marcel Tisserand. Omer Toprak, Simon Kjaer and Jose Gimenez are some of the other names that are being considered, but with the market as crazy as it is and Wenger as prudent as he is, it wouldn't be a big surprise if Arsenal end up with no-one.
Evans, the former Manchester United defender, is thought to be a backup option for Arsenal, with recent reports suggesting West Brom have slapped a £25 million price-tag on the 28-year-old, which just goes to show how inflated the transfer market is at the moment.
The defender's international manager Michael O'Neill, however, believes Evans would be a great signing for Arsenal.
"I've always felt that Jonny was a top Premier League player [and that] he could play in the top, top clubs in the Premier League," the Northern Ireland manager told Sky Sports.
"At Manchester United he proved that. He had a difficult final season at Manchester United where injury curtailed him a little bit, but at the Euros I think he showed his class. We played him in a back three and also at left-back in one of the games, he's very adaptable, and he's capable in my opinion of playing in the top teams in the Premier League."
At £25m, though, Evans is likely to remain a West Brom player.
