‘I cannot tell you!’ – Arsene Wenger refuses to comment on Arsenal’s reported interest in Shkodran Mustafi

Arsene Wenger has refused to discuss Arsenal's reported interest in Shkodran Mustafi.

The Gunners have been hit by a defensive crisis on the eve of the new season and reports suggest they are working on a £30m deal for the Valencia centre-back.

But Wenger declined to comment about the potential signing of Mustafi at his Friday press conference ahead of Sunday's Premier League opener against Liverpool, 

Asked if they had made any progress with a deal for the Germany international, Wenger replied:  "I cannot tell you."

He added: "Today my focus is not too much on transfers because we have an important game in 48 hours and to win this game transfers won’t help us.

"We have a strong squad and have to deal with the game."

Arsenal will be without injured duo Per Mertesacker and Gabriel for the visit of Jurgen Klopp's side, while fellow central defender Laurent Koscielny is not yet fit enough to start after his Euro 2016 exploits.

"I believe Per Mertesacker is out for four months and Gabriel for six to eight weeks," said Wenger.

"That's a bit better than expected because he doesn't need surgery. He ruptured his ankle ligament. At the start we thought it could be four months but he should be all right."

The trio's absence means Wenger will field an inexperienced central defensive partnership of Calum Chambers, 21, and new signing Rob Holding, 20.

But the Frenchman is confident they will hold their own against Liverpool.

"I have a few options at the back that you have seen in pre-season," he said. "It's basically the players we have available, that are quite young. But they want to do well.

"Rob [Holding] has played in the Championship. That's a good experience for a centre-back, to deal with one level higher."