Arsenal: Shkodran Mustafi injury must steer clear of Sead Kolasinac

Arsenal will be without Shkodran Mustafi for at least a month, which is terrifying, but at the very least, this can’t be allowed to effect Shkodran Mustafi.

In case you haven’t heard, Shkodran Mustafi blew out a leg muscle/muscle fiber in that super important game for already-qualified Germany against Azerbaijan. The Arsenal defender came up limp in a full sprint and the early diagnosis is everything terrible.

Joachim Lowe already delivered the verdict that the Gunners would be without Mustafi for at least a month, ruling him out through the crucial two seek stretch where Arsenal play five matches, traveling a good distance in the first eight days, to Serbia and back.

It already figures to cause major duress on the Arsenal back line, with Laurent Koscielny already a bit hampered by an Achilles injury – though supposedly back at full health – and Calum Chambers presumably still injured from his ongoing hip struggles.

Either this defense is going to be stretched incredibly thin over the next month, or Arsene Wenger is going to have to find some new candidates for the position that he feels confident enough in to play them in some crucial games.

Which means that youth products are likely ruled out.

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No matter what happens, the one thing that must be avoided is pushing Sead Kolasinac back to center back. I get that he is versatile enough to play the position effectively, but if it means taking him away from wingback, which it obviously would, then it can’t happen. He is far too important out there.

Plus, the only way he could move away from the role is if someone else were to cover at wingback, which could only be a youth product like Ainsley Maitland-Niles. I am a huge fan of the lad, but he’s no Kolasinac, and in such massive away fixtures, it would be a hindrance to the club to be without one of their primary instigators in the Bosnian Hulk.

What worries me is that Wenger has moved him before to cover for similar absences, as recently as in the onset of the season.

I would say that Wenger may opt for a back four, which would allow Kolasinac to play as a regular left back, but that provides it’s own defensive problems, not to mention Wenger is not one for pani changes.

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In the end, as long as Kolasinac is left to his own devices on that left hand side, this injury to Mustafi doesn’t need to hurt the team any more than it already will. Change as little as possible and let as much as is already working continue to work.

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