Arsenal transfer news: Jack Wilshere told he can leave on loan, Shkodran Mustafi and Lucas Perez join, Serge Gnabry exit

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger will allow club favourite Jack Wilshere to leave before Wednesday’s transfer deadline in order to secure a move to another Premier League club and play regular first-team football after losing his England place, it has been revealed.

Wilshere was not named in Sam Allardyce’s first England squad since he replaced Roy Hodgson after Euro 2016, and his omission has led to the 24-year-old asking Wenger to leave the club on a short-term deal. The Mirror reports that Wenger has agreed to the midfielder’s request, in the hope that he regains his best form and peak fitness by playing regularly.

The £30m-plus addition of Granit Xhaka has given Wenger plenty of options in central midfield, with the Swiss international joining Francis Coquelin, Mohamed Elneny, Santi Cazorla and Wilshere in the middle over the past three matches. The wide array of talent at Wenger’s disposal has restricted Wilshere to just 37 minutes of Premier League action this season, and led to the Arsenal academy product dropping out of the England side having just made it into Hodgson’s squad for the European Championship last June.

Wenger will not allow Wilshere to join another club vying for a top four finish, although he is more open to allowing him to join a club lower down the league table. The Mirror also claims that Middlesbrough have expressed an interest in Wilshere, though do not rule out a move abroad for the England international after Valencia attempted to sign him last season when Gary Neville was still manager of the Spanish club.

While fans will be concerned with Wilshere heading for the exit, there is at least some good news in the arrival of defender Shkodran Mustafi and striker Lucas Perez. The German Football Association [DFB] confirmed on Monday that 24-year-old Mustafi’s move to Arsenal was completed, with the centre-back himself confirming that it was his international teammate and new club colleague Mesut Özil that persuaded him to leave Valencia for the Emirates.

A DFB statement on Monday read: "Arsenal have increased their quota of German players with the transfer of world champion Shkrodan Mustafi from Valencia."

Speaking to Sky Sports Germany, Mustafi said: "I did not see Per for a long time because he quit international football but I talked to Mesut. He told me everything I wanted to know. Everything was positive, so I was convinced very fast. It did not take much.

"I have always loved Arsenal, I like how they play here, it is not typical English. The game here is more like in Spain and with the German national team, keeping the ball on the grass, so it was easy to convince me."

Perez meanwhile was pictured arriving at London Heathrow airport on Monday ahead of his Arsenal move, having undergone a medical last week. Perez is expected to join up with the rest of the squad later this week after being left out of the Spain national squad, with an announcement on both Mustafi and Perez expected before Wednesday’s transfer deadline.

Sky Sports Germany are also reporting that Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich are keen on signing Arsenal winger Serge Gnabry, with a view to loaning him out to Werder Bremen for the season. The 21-year-old is in the final year of his contract and Arsenal have expressed a desire to tie him down to a new contract. However, having endured a frustrating 2015/16 in which he made one Premier League appearance for West Brom during an ill-fated loan spell, Gnabry showed glimpses of his best form at the Olympics for Germany and appears to have caught the eye of Bayern, with a return home on the table five years after he left his hometown club of Stuttgart.

With Wilshere heading for the exit, it appears Wenger is already looking to bring in a replacement after The Sun claimed that the Gunners are looking to structure a late move for Paraguay midfielder Miguel Almiron. The 22-year-old currently plays for Argentine champions Lanus, and made his debut for Paraguay during this summer’s Copa America.

Despite his relative cheap fee at £11m though, Wenger’s comments last week suggested that Perez and Mustafi would be the final additions to his squad this summer following the arrivals of Xhaka, Rob Holding and Japanese striker Takuma Asano. "We had to work very hard to get the signings done. We have not got any plans for anyone else now," Wenger said before the weekend’s 3-1 victory over Watford.