Arsene Wenger doesn't know whether Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Shkodran Mustafi will stay at Arsenal

James Benge27 August 2017

Arsene Wenger has admitted he does not know whether Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Shkodran Mustafi will still be Arsenal players when the transfer window closes on Thursday.

Oxlade-Chamberlain is yet to respond to the offer of an improved contract at Arsenal having entered the final 12 months of his deal.

Though Arsenal are insistent that they will retain Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil, who are in similar situations, they may feel obliged to cash in on Oxlade-Chamberlain, for whom Chelsea would be willing to pay around £35million.

Liverpool, Arsenal’s 4-0 conquerors on Sunday, are also interested in the 24-year-old.

The possible departure of Shkodran Mustafi is more surprising. Less than a year after arriving from Valencia for £35million the Germany international is the subject of growing speculation linking him with a move to Serie A with Inter Milan.

Having been forthright in his insistence that Sanchez would not leave this summer Wenger has been notably less clear on his intentions with Mustafi, who was left on the bench as Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and substitute Daniel Sturridge found the net in an emphatic win for Liverpool.

Speaking after an Anfield hammering in which he admitted “everything” had gone wrong for Arsenal Wenger insisted he was not in the position to be

In Pictures | Liverpool vs Arsenal | 27/08/2017

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Asked about whether Oxlade-Chamberlain would stay the Arsenal manager said: “That’s not the kind of question I can answer after a game like that.

“I think we are focused on the game, what will happen on the transfer market in the next three to four days I don’t know.”

As to Mustafi: “Similar question, similar answer.”

Whether Oxlade-Chamberlain and Mustafi stay or not there will be significant outgoings from the Emirates in the final days of the transfer window.

As Standard Sport first reported earlier this month Lucas Perez is set to join Deportivo La Coruna. Kieran Gibbs is also expected to move on.