Arsenal and Shkodran Mustafi: So, how long should we wait?

Shkodran Mustafi has all the tools to be an outstanding centre-half. But he never seems to be able to put it all together. How long should Arsenal wait for him to do so?

If you were to put together all the physical and technical attributes that you would want of a centre-half and build a player, it’s not too ridiculous to say that you would build someone like Shkodran Mustafi. Perhaps a little taller. But many of the traits that are needed in a centre-half are embodied by the Arsenal defender.

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Speed, an aggressive reading of the game, good positioning, athletic in aerial duels, strong and dominating in the tackle, communicative, organisational. There are few other physical and technical things that you would want in a centre-half. And yet, Mustafi has never quite performed as if he has such a wonderful base to build from.

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And that, quite simply, comes down to his mental capabilities. Take his reading of the game and his positioning, for instance. I believe that Mustafi reads the game well. He makes a high number of interceptions, he is frequently in the right position. But that does not mean that he is not positionally exploited. He is. A lot. But that does not stem from his inability to correctly position himself. Instead, it comes from lapses in concentration, a sleepiness to danger, a numbness to the developing threat, not a lack of knowledge in where to stand when.

That tells the story of a much greater problem with Mustafi. He has all the natural attributes that you would want in a centre-half. And yet, here we are, two years after a £35 million move, still waiting for him to put it all together. Could it be, then, that his mental deficiencies — his inconsistencies; his tendency to go to sleep; his lapses in concentration — are so severe that will forever hamper his progress and his performance?

It is certainly a fair question to ask. Thus far, we have had little evidence to suggest that he can learn from his mistakes and address such weaknesses.

So, then, the topic of discussion changes slightly: How long should Arsenal wait for Mustafi to put it all together? At what point do they cut ties with the German, accepting that he will never reach the level that his natural abilities suggest he should be able to reach?

That is a more difficult question to answer. I am not quite sure we have reached that point yet, but, then, I do not exactly trust Mustafi to anchor the defence next season either. Therefore, I simultaneously want Mustafi to be replaced and trusted. That is a strange stance to take, but it is the dichotomy and tension of developing young or inconsistent or raw but talented individuals.

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It remains to be seen what Arsenal and the new manager think of Mustafi. Germany do not think that he is good enough, for instance. I am not quite so ready to write him off. But time is running out for the 26-year-old. He needs to round out his game and quickly, or he will find his way out of the Emirates rather sharpish.