Arsenal vs Brighton and Hove Albion: Beware, Shkodran Mustafi

Arsenal’s defense has come to life recently, but Brighton & Hove Albion will test their resolve for reasons not even involving their attack.

Arsenal’s defense was shaken up massively to start the season. Surrendering eight goals in your first three matches will tend to do that. But since then, it has been golden. They answered back in September, surrendering zero Premier League goals.

Meaning that their first choice defenders are riding a pretty special goalless streak. Every single member of that back three deserves credit, as does Petr Cech, and that includes the far-too-heavily-criticized Shkodran Mustafi.

However, Brighton & Hove Albion may be facing a favorable situation.

Now, I’m not one for fear mongering. I don’t like to run around chiming a bell and griping that the end is near. But the upcoming match with the Seagulls has me a bit nervy.

For starters, Laurent Koscielny has a phantom achilles injury, as Arsene Wenger pointed out, and isn’t even sure if he will be ready. He has to pass a fitness test. Assuming that he does play, there may still be a bit of hesitation on his part, depending on how healthy that crucial tendon actually is.

Which means that Rob Holding may be forced to make a spot start just three days after he played the full 90 against BATE Borisov in Belarus.

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What does this have to do with Shkodran Mustafi? Well, the German also played the full 90 in Belarus. And while I’m not one of the people out there griping about Mustafi’s recent performance, I do fear what might happen if he has to play a full match against Premier League opposition on a half tank of gas.

Double that if Holding is stepping in doing the same thing.

It will certainly make things interesting. And as Mustafi is already on the hot seat, for whatever reason, people will be watching. They will see any slip-up or mishap and it will be blown up.

On the bright side, at least Brighton won’t have Tomed Hemed, who had been an aerial monster for them up front. They will have to break down this potentially weary defense in other ways.

Also on the bright side, Nacho Monreal is coming off of the best performance of his life. So even if Wenger came out and said that both Mustafi and Koscielny can’t play and Holding is lacking in fitness, so we are letting Monreal hold down the back all by himself, I’d shrug and look forward to more heroics.

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Hopefully Mustafi is at full fitness. I’d hate to see him give the haters any fuel for this imaginary fire.