Arsenal: Shkodran Mustafi Is Deludedly Optimistic Leader

Shkodran Mustafi has stated that he still believes Arsenal can win the title. He is a deludedly optimistic leader and I’m not sure if that’s good or bad.

Leadership has been a characteristic that this current Arsenal side have struggled with greatly. Unlike the early years under Arsene Wenger when the team was bursting strong wills and forceful personalities, there seems to be a softness to this current set of players that opposition clubs exploit year in and year out.

The team has always been blessed with great athletes and great technicians, players capable of displaying wonderful physical ability or a sublime piece of skill to unpick even the most disciplined and regimented of defences. Leadership, or the lack thereof, has always been the Gunners’ Achilles’ heel.

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Latest signing Shkodran Mustafi, however, has shown glimpses that he can one day develop into a vocal and communicative figurehead within the dressing room. Speaking to Sky Sports in the wake of a loss to Chelsea in which many assumed to end Arsenal’s title chances, Mustafi proclaimed his belief that he and his teammates can still lift the trophy come May:

"“I think it’s going to be more difficult than it was before but I’m a believer. I don’t give up. As long as it’s possible we’re going to fight for it, and in the end, we will see and if we’re lucky enough and good enough to go for it or not. The first game we lost at home [to Watford] was really disappointing. We woke up a bit late, conceded two quick goals and it was difficult to come back. We were disappointed as well with losing at Chelsea, which was a completely different game. We knew it would be difficult at Stamford Bridge, but we knew as well it’s possible to win. I think in the end we didn’t do enough.”"

Although these comments are the routine, public-facing ‘we still believe in ourselves’ type comments that always surface in a show of defiance after a poor run of form or particularly bad result, they perhaps suggest more about Mustafi the man, rather than what they describe.

It is a rather deluded case to argue; that Arsenal can still win the title. And yet, when leaders are delineated, positive is a character trait that is seldom missing. Mustafi is clearly optimistic, even to the point of being naive and innocent. But perhaps, alongside his willingness to challenge and to criticise, more characteristics that he has showcased in his six-month tenure thus far, it shows that the German international can bring the much-needed leadership that Arsenal have been yearning for.

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I am still unsure of whether to praise Mustafi for his glass-half-full attitude or whether to vilify him because the glass should be so empty that the tap has broken. Some may say he is foolish, shortsighted, overly-ambitious others may say he is inspiring and captivating. What he is, I do not know, but a leader he may well become.

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