Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta is ready to offload defender Shkodran Mustafi this summer, according to reports from Football London.

Mustafi performed well after Arteta’s appointment as head coach in December, and the Gunners boss hailed him as a ‘consistent’ player last season.

The centre-back played some of his best football under the Spaniard, and Arteta was keen to keep Mustafi, who joined from Valencia for a reported fee of £35 million in 2016, at the club.

However, Football London claims that the Gunners are now prepared to consider offers for the 28-year-old defender, who has one year remaining on his contract at Arsenal.

Several clubs in Italy, including Lazio, have registered an interest in the Arsenal defender, but as of now, the north London club haven’t received any formal bid for the player.

Mustafi is not expected to return to training with Arsenal until next month after undergoing surgery on his hamstring, and his future remains up in the air.

Arsenal value Mustafi at around £15million. The Gunners need to offload some of their players in order to trim the squad and raise funds to bolster the midfield.

The report claims that the Gunners are prepared to offload at least six players this summer, with the likes of Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Calum Chambers, Lucas Torreira, Matteo Guendouzi and Mesut Ozil being considered surplus to requirements at the club.