Arsene Wenger confirms his biggest ever day of spending

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has confirmed that the £52 million he is preparing to fork out for the double signing of Shkodran Mustafi and Lucas Perez will be the most money he has spent on transfer in a single day in his entire career.

After weeks of speculation, the Gunners are finally set to complete the signing of German defender Mustafi from Valencia for a fee of £35 million.

The North London Club have been in the market for defensive reinforcements since both Gabriel Paulista and Per Mertesacker were ruled out with long term injuries. They were linked with moves for the likes of West Bromwich Albion’s Jonny Evans and AS Monaco’s Marcel Tisserand, but Mustafi was believed to be their first choice all along.

It has emerged that Arsenal’s opening bid for Mustafi was only 18 million, but they have now agreed to pay €42 million for the World Cup winner.

The Gunners are also set to end their search for a striker as they close in on the £17 million signing of Lucas Perez from Deportivo la Coruña. The 27-year-old scored 17 goals in La Liga last season.

Arsenal had previously failed in moves to sign Jamie Vardy from Leicester City, Gonzalo Higuaín from Napoli – who has since become the third most expensive player in history by joining Juventus for €90 million – and Alexandre Lacazette of Lyon.