Arsenal: Shkodran Mustafi The Future Come Early

Arsenal has been gearing up for life after their reliant Mertescielny, but they leapfrogged all that preparation with Shkodran Mustafi.

Arsenal was in good hands with Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker at the back. While three years may not seem like the longest time, it was a reliable time, where the perfectly polarizing pair kept watch over the back for the Gunners. The only thing that could get in the way was injuries (and they often did).

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However, with their increasing age, as well as the lack of depth exposed by injuries, it became increasingly necessary to start compiling some younger defensive talents that could carry on the legacy.

Wenger clearly had his mind on developing talent, rather than proven talent, because his answer was Calum Chambers and Gabriel Paulista. Both were extremely talented but extremely experimental. It became a race against the clock – could they materialize before Mertescielny lost its luster?

To add a little added umph to the race, Wenger added young Polish prospect Krystian Bielik to the mix by switching him to a center back and suddenly, Arsenal had three young defenders. Yet again, all were highly experimental.

So, to make matters even more interesting, a fourth young center back was added in Rob Holding. Showing arguably more promise than the other three, Holding could well have been the answer to the future of the defense.

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At the very least, we now had four options to choose from to supplement our aging defensive duo.

Per Mertesacker’s injury may have been the greatest gift to North London. And I mean that as no disrespect to the BFG. I say it simply because it damn well might have been the final domino being knocked over to bring in Shkodran Mustafi.

Mustafi has been more than anyone could have wished for. Everyone is singing his praises, from Wenger to Ferdinand. And that is a rare thing, to have everyone agreeing.

It feels as though Mustafi is the future that Wenger was planning for, just a bit early. So early, in fact, that he has completely disrupted the flow of this defensive pipeline, wedging himself in there as a must-start and solidifying himself as, not only a talent to watch, but also one of the better defenders in England.

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All those signings made in preparation for a changing of the guard now have to fit into one role, because Mustafi isn’t going anywhere any time soon.