Shkodran Mustafi has rejected Arsenal's offer of a contract extension and wants to leave the club on a free transfer in the summer.
The news, as exclusively revealed by football.london last month, is perhaps not a huge surprise considering the German international has spent over four years in north London.
The German defender, whose contract expires next summer, enjoyed a renaissance under Gunners boss Mikel Arteta last season, starting 15 of Arsenal's last 17 games under the Spaniard before suffering a knee injury which required corrective surgery in July.
Mustafi, 28, looked certain to leave under Arteta's predecessor Unai Emery, with the former head coach admitting that it would have been "positive" for him and team-mate Mohamed Elneny to continue their careers elsewhere.
Mustafi, who joined Arsenal from Valencia for £35million in 2016, has spent five years in north London but has been sparsely included in matchday squads recently and was an unused substitute in the 3-0 defeat to Aston Villa.
"Nothing is ruled out, we can imagine everything, because Shkodran is a free agent in the summer," his father Kujtim is quoted as saying to German media outlet Sport1.
His time with the Gunners has been fraught with criticism and challenges, but there have been bright moments, goals and crucial interceptions which are rarely spoken about.
During his years as a Valencia player, the 28-year-old made 226 interceptions over two seasons in La Liga, a statistic which wasn't bettered by any other player in the league.
football.london spoke to Egyptian journalist and huge Valencia supporter Ahmed Atta about Mustafi's performances in La Liga and why the critics aren't as fair as many would have you believe.
"I understand that Arsenal fans haven't been convinced with Shkodran Mustafi. It was completely different in Valencia. He had two very good seasons.
"He had a good partnership with Nicolas Otamendi and Valencia's team was strong and powerful during this season.
"He fitted in well with more than one tactic, in the 4-3-3 formation and 3-5-2 formation which Nuno Espirito Santo used.
"I think that it was a similar case with Otamendi, who was very good at Valencia but didn't fit in well in his other team.
"Maybe there was a reason for that because Valencia didn't use a high defensive line so Mustafi was pretty good at it, and maybe he lost confidence with this mess in the Arsenal defence.
"This happens when a player doesn't fit in a team so I don't think Arsenal made a mistake in buying him.
"Mustafi was great in Valencia and showed a lot of good things. He was very good in anticipating the ball and this reflected well with his interceptions statistics.
"He was also a good tackler and that's why Valencia fans have very good memories of Mustafi compared to Arsenal fans, but this happens in football where some players fit into teams and others do not."
