Arsenal: There is a top-class defender in Shkodran Mustafi

Arsenal fans are disenchanted with Shkodran Mustafi, and given the recent upturn in young centerbacks, it may seem like time to sell, but not so fast.

Arsenal spent a lot of money (for a defender) when they bought Shkodran Mustafi two summers. £35m in the same transfer window where Mats Hummels is sold for £30m is pretty dicey, overall.

It was – and often still is – dubbed a panic buy, but it’s hard to ignore what the Gunners saw in this man. For starters, he began his North London career with 19 unbeaten matches. As long as he started, there were no losses.

People said he would be too short, yet he has proven to be an aerial menace. People said he was not proven enough, but he settled immediately.

The problems with Mustafi have nothing to do with physical limitations or not having a fluffy resume. The problems come from this inexplicable systematic epidemic of napping on defense. Mental mistakes happen, but they should not be happening as they happen across the board for this Arsenal defense.

It isn’t just Mustafi. It is every regular starter. In one way or another on multiple occasions, they have been plaguing this team and stepping all over themselves as they attempt to establish themselves.

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Hence the rumors that whatever manager is next will simply gut the entire back line and start from scratch.

But that would be foolish. This is probably hard for some people to accept, but there is a top class defender inside of Mustafi. We see if every so often and it’s so convincing that it effectively erases all doubts in the span of ninety minutes.

The issue is that it’s never a guarantee that that same Mustafi will come back out the next match.

Watching the budding consistency of Calum Chambers and Konstantinos Mavropanos, I’m reminded of how nice it is to have steady, if not underwhelming (in a good way) presences at the back.

That isn’t Mustafi. Mustafi is dynamic. He is an impact on the pitch and that isn’t something you normally get out of a defender. But if you can perfect it, and find the consistency inside of Mustafi, then he will be something truly special.

Of course, that’s the trick, isn’t it? Solving the riddle to get to the answer.

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Mustafi has so much ability in him. Beyond just being a defender. It would be a pity to give up on him now.

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