Arsenal vs Burnley: The importance of Shkodran Mustafi

Arsenal’s defense is still squirming, and with Shkodran Mustafi out, it’s time to visit, yet again, why he will be missed so much.

I spent a good deal of time covering just why Shkodran Mustafi was so important to get back out on the pitch against Tottenham. Obviously that didn’t happen and Arsenal were left to awkwardly squirm like an earthworm in a storm.

Granit Xhaka was left to fill in at centerback, and while he was quite good in his own right, missing Mustafi is hurting far worse than many might have expected, and it it likely that, against Burnley, the pending absence of Mustafi will hurt worst of all.

The main theme of my “bring back Mustafi” rants and ravings have been centered on one thing – his aerial ability. The German, once criticized for being too short and thus not an aerial threat, leads the team in aerials won, averaging nearly four a match. The next closest available player is Granit Xhaka with two.

In terms of the Premier League as a whole, Mustafi ranks in the top ten in aerial duel percentage, not all that far behind Virgil van Dijk.

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Burnley may not be the best team in the league. They are a far cry from the sturdy opponent they were last year, but they have been doing one thing quite well this year, and that is winning in the air. They are third in the league in aerials won, third in aerial goals scored, and first in aerials won in away matches.

I don’t want to have to bring up Southampton again, because that match royally sucked, but let’s not forget how we were beaten three times in the air, on three separate occasions. Maybe Mustafi wouldn’t have prevented all of them, but it’s not all that crazy to believe that he could have stopped at least one.

Burnley are going to need to be stopped in the air. They are going to be have to kept in check. And it’s a crying shame that we won’t have Mustafi there to alleviate these fears. Hopefully someone else will step up. Sokratis was pretty dominant aerially against the Spurs, for what that’s worth.

It’s two losses in a row now, and it sucks. Mustafi is back in training next week, so it’ll be a big question mark when he can get back into the starting XI where he belongs. I guess, at the end of the day, at least we are learning to appreciate him.