According to Mustafi’s Instagram account he’d like us to believe that, like an eagle, he’s going to use ‘the negative energy of a storm to fly even higher’. It must be hard for a player to know how the fans feel about him, I haven’t seen many articles supporting him staying with Arsenal.
He has been guilty of losing concentration and allowing the defense to be breached on too many occasions to not question whether he should be replaced. His experience as a World Cup winner with Germany is one reason why we should keep him ……….. we don’t have many winners in the squad.
When he joined us in 2014 we went on a great run of unbeaten games, in fact he beat Bacary Sagna’s run of an unbeaten start with 18 games and boasted that we never lost when he played. Sadly that came back to bite him on the behind as he was unable to shore up the defense in the way that we needed.
If his partnership with Koscielny had worked out it would have been perfect for us as he was only 24 when he joined and therefore Koscielny could now be passing him the baton.
Luckily we have a couple of young CB’s in Holding and Mavropanos coming through and Sokratis who has impressed but if we can’t find a buyer for Mustafi we’re stuck with him and we don’t have funds available to add another better CB to the squad.
How would you feel if Mustafi was still lining up for us in August?
peachesgooner
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We can do without Mustafi next season as there are enough numbers for an either 3 or 2 CBs starting spots.
He has 2 years left in his current contract, so under Sanllehi’s & Venkatesham’s new directive for the club, the decision should be made this summer on his long term status in our club. If he is not required by the coach, he would be sold/ loan out with option to buy in the near future/ forced out with an early termination of his contract (worst case scenario).
We have Sokratis & Koscielny as the 2 senior CBs and Holding, Bielik, Chambers & Mavropanos as the 4 junior CBs to work with in squad rotation within the 1st team squad. This is without any new recruitment from the outside.
He is the first name on my list for players to be sold. He is just unreliable and inconsistent. He cant lead a defense and although he has fantastic attitude, we should cash on him ASAP. Holding, Sokratis, Kos and Monreal have been more reliable than him and we can afford to lose Mustafi, Kos, Monreal and be in a position to buy a really good CB to improve our backline while integrating Mavro and or Bielik to the team… Danke und Auf wiedersehen Mustafi
Morning Peaches, and thanks for the Vote/Post.
My views about Mustafi have softened somewhat, after I read his instagram message which you included in the Post;
— “he’d like us to believe that, like an eagle, he’s going to use ‘the negative energy of a storm to fly even higher’”
It’s very poetic, and who knew eagles had their own form of propulsion? 😁
He (Mustafi) is not a hopeless case, in that he works hard, and as a once German International he has both skill and experience, but he reminds me of other past players that fans often said he has a bad mistake in waiting to happen.
It is those occasional mistakes that has turned the fans against him, and given how poor most people think our defence is – that is a bit harsh.
The news if proven to be correct, shows that Arsenal are trying to recruit at least one new young CB, so if that happens I would be content with that too.
The vote’s pretty conclusive and would that it were that easy to get shot of him, but the word must be out as to how unreliable he can be.
He’s not one of the top earners, so I’d say if we can’t make a sale keep him on as a squad member where he might be of some value but definitely a second or third choice behind Sokratis, Kos, Holding & Chambers.
Shkodran can’t exactly blame us for the way we feel about him, can he?? Yes he’s had a few decent (😳) games for us & scored a few.. but the constant brain farts seriously outweigh any good he has done! That is all he’ll be remembered for.. the costly errors (that he never learns from!) Gary Neville’s comments about him spoke volumes! And he should know, having “managed” Valencia!!
I, personally can’t wait to see the back of him.. especially after the Palace game!! Ooh speaking of Palace… have we signed Zaha yet?! 😁
I think Mustafi has proved we can’t trust him.
I remember that time he was mugged and outmuscled by Aguero near the halfway line, I remember him going to ground many times when proper defenders would stay on their feet, I remember him losing his man in the box for corners.
It all adds up to too many mistakes, and when a defender makes a mistake the consequences are much more serious.
I think the Holding/Sokratis partnership was Emery’s preferred option until Holding’s unfortunate injury. It looks like Holding might be fit for the start of the season so I’d be happy with that going forward, but wouldn’t complain if we bring in a tall powerful established defender to shore up the defence and let Mustafi go.
[Sorry for the missing words / grammar in my comments – since my operation my brain and typing fingers do not always listen to each other.] 🥺
The vote’s pretty conclusive but would that it was so easy to get shot of him and the word must be out as to his unreliability.
As he’s not one of the very top earners a case could be made for his inclusion as a regular squad member but relegated to second or third choice after Sokratis, Kos, Holding, Nacho & Chambers, after all he can sometimes put in a decent performance.
Ah! I see what has happened here.
Sorry!
We re targeting Saliba and Zagadou – 2 young powerful CBs but to b honest, we should be targeting the likes of Koulibaly… I wouldn’t mind snatching Aldewereid, Mina or even Bailly from Tottenham, Everton and Man Utd. They can be tempted to join us. I know for a fact that Thiago Silva will not be retained by Psg in case of good offers and given he is 34…we could get him for less than 15 mln..
Am keen on selling Mustafi, Kos and Monreal. Buying one good CB and have 4 CBs with Recruit, Holding, Sok and Mavro or Bielik (I d sell Bielik but in case we keep him, we need to loan out Mavro)
We ll keep Chambers as a DM but we can use him as CB if needed.
Hi RC78, I agree about Chambers, he can play CB, RB and DM .. every squad needs a player like him … he could become our new ‘Flamini’
…. or even Giles Grimandi? 🙂
Is Mustafi the only defender who makes mistakes?
What about Kosielny?
Is he perfect?
League Cup final against Birmingham, anyone?
Getting sent off against Bayern, anyone?
All those penalties he gave away, anyone?
We gave away plenty of silly goals in games when he wasn’t playing, so were they his fault as well?
Chambers has been playing as a midfielder at Fulham, and done quite well there, so is he likely to become a centre back again?
Is it not the same with Bielik?
Are there not statistics from last season that show that he was one of our better defenders?
Surely the recklessness that we have seen on occasion can be trained out of him, as it was trained out of Koscielny, who was responsible for many penalties in his early years, and now seems to have acquired the status of saint.
For years the massed ranks of the “fans” were baying for Ramsey’s blood and now we see him also elevated to the status of a lost saviour.
How many times did he lose the ball in advanced positions that caused panic in the defence to defend breakaways and counterattacks?
Do not defenders make mistakes because they are left exposed by their colleagues and decide that drastic measures are required?
The defence as a whole are at fault here, not just Mustafi. I believe that their ability to lose concentration is at fault a lot of the time.
Perhaps they need better coaching.
Surely, as the club now seem to have employed myriads of people to look after the minutiae of the club, they can find another who can train the carelessness and concentration loss amongst all of our defenders.
Ah, the much maligned Gilles Grimandi, but not by me, I liked Gilles, great squad player who could fill in several positions, every successful team/squad, needs its Gilles’…
Yes, I was a fan of GG too … he could be relied upon to put in a meaty tackle if someone needed ‘slowing down’ 🙂
He certainly could Rasp and according to Ray Parlour he was quite good at Cockney rhyming slang.
… would you Adam and Eve it? 🙂
Gawd bless ya guvnor
Hi jjgsol, do you believe that Pat Rice, and latterly Steve Bould (two top defenders) were ever able to truly exert their influence on the coaching of our defence?
I think that the truth is AW was not too concerned about the defence.
Possibly, having inherited the great back 5 he felt he could concentrate on the rest of the game.
Yet he still produced the Invincibles defence, so perhaps he did have it in mind.
I am just wondering whether Bould, great defender that he was, was not so good as a coach for defending.
It could also be that AW needed to control everything, so Bould did not get much of a say or role. His confidence as a coach could have been harmed, so he could not be of assistance to UE.
As UE is a coach, rather than a manager, perhaps his input was not even wanted by him.
Thanks jjgsol, I think you’ve summed it up perfectly there.
Wow.. just saw Shrek’s strike, from in his own half… what a beauty (the goal, not him 😂) that’s his 3rd now… imagine if any of our players ever scored a stunner like that!!
https://www.premierleague.com/players/3869/Shkodran-Mustafi/stats
https://www.whoscored.com/Players/80921/Show/Shkodran-Mustafi
Here are links to Mustafi s performances
The numbers say he is decent
Sorry, no I dont trust him, for slowness of thought and action at critical times, being unable to tackle without sliding in, and for rarely taking responsibility for his own mistakes (pointing to others or positioning)!
Comprehensively poor value for 35m.
And sir, please remember Icarus and his demise!
So, Mustafi needs a game reader next to him, not the same type of player, think Kos, Kos and Per played together one year, and the team went 16 games keeping a clean sheet with Woj in goal. After that season, Per was in decline and by the time he retired the back for was a mess.
An interesting read over on ” You are my Arsenal” and the article called “In defense of Mustafi.” Just for reference, not trying to sway traffic.
The best defenses lately, have had this balance, Kompany, van Dijk, and dare i say it, terRy..
He needs a compliment that the Arsenal do not currently possess.
Is there a player out there that the Arsenal can afford to support him?
I think not.
So Ornstein is reporting that UE has lost patience with Mustafi and wants him sold! Apparently Fenerbahce are interested… oh today is getting better & better 😜
Anyone else watching the Lionesses? 2-0 to our girls at half time …… very enjoyable, could have been more 😁
Yep- and they pass it out of the back better than the Arsenal!
Fair scoreline. Norway has had their chances too, but well a deserved England lead.
Unfortunately, they are going to get eaten alive by France or the US, unless that game goes to extra extra time.
I love how they break away too ….. they all know where each other are going to be …… great link up play.
Great third goal ….. a bit naive to try the move for the third time but Norway must’ve known it was coming 🙄
Thanks Peaches, good post. I really feel bad singling out our players and Mustaffi doesn’t actually shirk his responsibility in an attitude sense. It is the one a reaI feel he has in his credit on analysis and I always feel he is prepared to get hurt for the team so I would hate to see him become a target of the fans. While he is with us he is one of ours and should be supported.
He is one of the smaller sized defenders which goes against him. That is not always the end of it if the other aspects of that players game make up for, as in say Puyol. Unfortunately Mustaffi doesn’t make up for it in the other areas and I don’t think he is a top level defender, at least not in the EPL.
He tends to go to ground too easily and is prone to not read the game too well, realising dangerous moments when it is too late too often. In many ways I feel Xhaka is a bit like Mustaffi but further forwards and that gives us a slightly weak spine in a critical area.
Mustaffi is probably a premier league standard player but not a business end of the premier league player. He reflects the standard we have exhibited as a club in recent seasons, but we should be lloking above this standard and if we are to get back to that higher level then he is a player that we need to improve upon, and I would like to see him enjoying his football at a club that suits his ability.
Good stuff from the lionesses.
Sarry about the bod spillings in my corment. Hope ewe still unterstaid it
The Lionesses have played a blinder!!
I can’t help but chuckle at Phil Neville’s hair 😀
I have really been impressed with the overall standard of the women’s game tonight –and some of the dippy play in the penalty areas made me feel right at home. 🥺
Oh, dear, a good save by the Norway GK – and England don’t seal it with the penalty for 4 : 0
GB 😂
GB,
I understood the bit you misspelt – not sure about the rest! 🤪
Could we sneak a few of these women into the men’s team … do you think anyone would notice?
Well done the ladies!! 😁
Rasp,
I think everyone would notice — the improvement!! 😜
😂 Redders …
Fred… that is brilliant!!😍😍 love it
I haven’t gotten a new kit in over 2 years difinetly that will be changing this season
Make it real Fred… 🙂
GoonerB
You views are “spilling out all over” for me!!
Mustafi and Xhaka about Sunderland level for me! Shame they cost so much as we could have guaranteed Tierney, Saliba, and then put in a big bid for Pepe, with a refund.
Fred.. I’m still gushing over that advert! Doesn’t get much better than that – with Wrighty in it 😊 Kolasinac looks as fine as ever.. I just love Hector’s twang! Even Idris is in it – surprised he didn’t rap!! Cheers for that, Fred! 👌
I’m just catching up on this post and the day before. Great stuff.
Regarding Mustafi, personally I don’t think he’s as bad as people say. I also know that when the grief started for him, he’d had a couple of awkward games coming back from his first injury. I tought it unfair and decided that id defend him. A good while later, i find defending him staunchly as difficult as he does our goal.
Chicken and egg situation for me. If we treated him as a world cup winning centre back and chanted his name, would he be better?
I know he can head well, and at times distribution from the back has been excellent. Occassional flashes of excellent defending make me wish we were all supporters and not just fans.
Good Morning people,
I am so excited today, as Sue would say, we are going to be treated to GB’s massive missive – a Post that was first given life 2 years ago, and now it is almost here.
Let’s give it a marvellous countdown — are you with me?
Altogether now ; FIVE; FOUR, THREE, TWO, ONE …………. ????
Not another 2 year delay : oh, well – camel trouble, I suppose 🐪🐪
Morning all….
… in the meantime … there’s a silly new post ….
Els mustafi isn’t as bad as people say yea he is worse