Arsenal: Shkodran Mustafi injury can be opportunity

Arsenal’s Shkodran Mustafi may have torn a ligament for Germany on Saturday. If so, he will likely miss the rest of the season. His injury, though, can be seen as an opportunity, not a hindrance.

Development, as a young player, is often dependent on opportunities. Does the manager give enough and the right type of opportunities for the young players under his tutelage to learn and to grow from their experiences? At Arsenal, such are his principles, that Arsene Wenger has always encouraged the bringing through of young talent.

However, in equal measure to Wenger’s desire to acquire, develop, and feature youngsters, he also has the competitive demands of finishing in the top four, challenging for titles, and winning trophies, something that is far more feasible with a more experienced and hardened side.

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The balancing of offering young players opportunities without sacrificing the short-term prospects of the side is extremely difficult. Some managers simply refuse to play any young players, only driven by their quest for success, even if that means leaking the wallets of the owners to sign overpriced targets in the transfer window; others are too naive, entrusting far too much responsibility to the younger members of their squad.

At Arsenal, for the most part, Wenger has tread that line well. But as his squad only becomes more competitive, with each and every player fighting for a starting role, it has become increasingly difficult for him to consistently feature young players, especially in the Premier League.

Well, now he has the perfect opportunity to do so at one of the more difficult positions to bring in young players. Shkodran Mustafi was forced off during Germany’s 5-1 win over Azerbaijan on Saturday. He is, as a result, expected to miss an extended period, potentially as long as several months, though, as of writing, the timeline has not yet been defined.

He will need to be replaced by those already in the squad, namely, Rob Holding and Calum Chambers. Both, at 22 years of age, are hoped to be the future of the Arsenal defence.

If that hope is to become a reality, then they must be given the chance to learn. That chance is now. With Mustafi out of the picture for at least a reasonable period of time, it is likely that at least one of Holding or Chambers — it is more likely to be the former — will start for the Gunners as long as they are available.

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A consistent run of games for either or both is a great and rare opportunity. Injuries are never nice and I wish Mustafi all the best in his recovery. However, it is very easy to focus on the negative. Perhaps, for Holding and Chambers at least, this is a chance to further establish as central pillars of Arsenal’s future.

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