Pain in the Arsenal
Fansided

Arsenal: Mid-Season player rankings

By Andrew Dowdeswell

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 22: Aaron Ramsey of Arsenal celebrates scoring his sides fourth goal during the Premier League match between Everton and Arsenal at Goodison Park on October 22, 2017 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 22: Aaron Ramsey of Arsenal celebrates scoring his sides fourth goal during the Premier League match between Everton and Arsenal at Goodison Park on October 22, 2017 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images) /
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Arsenal, Shkodran Mustafi
LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 25: Hal Robson-Kanu of West Bromwich Albion and Shkodran Mustafi of Arsenal battle for the ball during the Premier League match between Arsenal and West Bromwich Albion at Emirates Stadium on September 25, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images) /

9. Shkodran Mustafi

Shkodran Mustafi, before a thing injury suffered while playing for Germany midway through the season, was everpresent in the Arsenal defence. Wenger spoke of the trust that he had in the German at the heart of the back-three, providing a nice balance with Laurent Koscielny and Nacho Monreal either side of him.

And that is exactly what Mustafi brings to this team. He has a slight edge, a little madness, a little maverick to his play that, while sometimes exposes the defence to vulnerabilities that a more composed and conservative defender would not allow, brings a different element to an Arsenal team that is a little soft under the belly.

He still has much to learn. His diving into tackles is a problem that he has been fortunate to get away with so far this season. But, for the most part, Mustafi has continued to show why Wenger trusts him at the heart of the defence. A good, if not great, campaign thus far.

(Andy: 13th; Josh: 6th)

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