Arsenal: Shkodran Mustafi providing the next defensive identity

Arsenal’s defense is begging for an identity, and the man that was brought on to provide it is doing just that. And that man is Shkodran Mustafi.

There is one thing that is going horribly wrong for Arsenal, and that one thing is the defense. Back three, back four, it doesn’t matter. There are six centerbacks that are being rotated between and it doesn’t seem to matter. Young or old, short or tall, everyone seems to struggle with personal mistakes and miscommunication.

It’s like the defense is searching for an identity. Laurent Koscielny was that identity. His proactive style became the calling card of the Arsenal defense, but having learned that he is always playing in pain and seeing the effect that it has, it’s clear that that defensive identity is out the window.

And it needs to be. We need to move on from that and start establishing a new defensive form. That is what Shkodran Mustafi is here to do.

Mustafi’s arrival was a curious one. Arsene Wenger paid more for him than Bayern Munich paid for Mats Hummels in the same transfer window. No approach was ever made for Hummels.

Many called Mustafi a panic buy stemming from injuries in the club, hence the high price. That high price set the expectations similarly high, as prices often do, but the German has lived up to it in every sense.

He hasn’t been impeccable and he’s not been perfect, but he is establishing some crucial pieces of a defense starved of those pieces – communication and coordination.

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There is still a lot of growth to go towards building this defense around him, but the bricks are being laid. Against Chelsea, with Rob Holding and Calum Chambers alongside him, Mustafi had his work cut out for him. There were blips and dips, without a doubt.

But the one thing that started to shine through was the identity that this defense will carry. This is the future of the defense and with Mustafi at the center, we saw a very aggressive, no-nonsense defense that carries considerable athleticism, pushes forward and doesn’t back down from a challenge.

They were fearless. Menacing even. Again, it didn’t always work out. It rarely ever does. But the foundation is being laid for a path forward for a defense far too dependent on aging stars.

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It’s hard to push for patience, but that is what is needed here. There is a lot to believe in with this defense, and even more to be excited about. With someone like Mustafi at the center, you have a leader, and that is saying way more than it should.