Arsene Wenger has conceded defeat in his attempt to sign Thomas Lemar from Monaco but refused to rule out the departure of centre-back Shkodran Mustafi over the next week.

Arsenal have had three bids rejected by Monaco for Lemar but the main focus now for Wenger relates to players who might leave and, having already sold one centre-back in Gabriel, he was noticeably vague on the subject of Mustafi amid interest from Inter Milan.

Asked if he expects to sell Mustafi, Wenger said: “It’s difficult for me to speak about any individual cases because we are now in the final seven days of the transfer market. It’s always very difficult to predict what will happen there. You have to make quick and sharp decisions, and you cannot plan that and come out in the press conference with how you will respond to any solicitation.”