Arsenal vs Manchester City: 5 key players in colossal clash

2. Shkodran Mustafi

It doesn’t feel good to be going into a match against Manchester City knowing that our defensive hopes are going to center on Shkodran Mustafi. With Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Laurent Koscielny out, the German is it, he is the senior statesman, the head honcho. And chances are, at best, he will have Nacho Monreal and perhaps Konstantinos Mavropanos alongside him, at worst, one or the other.

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But I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again – when a lot is riding on Mustafi’s shoulders, he has a tendency to step up. Maybe not reliably, but he seems to have a better chance of showing up in a big match than in a “regular” one.

I think of all the times he pocketed various Chelsea strikers. He had a stellar outing against Tottenham too, not that long ago.

This is another one of those matches that can remind us that, believe it or not, Mustafi is immensely capable, just not immensely consistent.

Still, he has athleticism, he can match the pace of City’s attack, and if he stays mentally keyed in, well, then you never know what could happen.

Finally, No. 1.