Arsenal: Shkodran Mustafi is our solution at right back

Arsenal have had a couple chances now to slot Shkodran Mustafi into the rightback position and I’m happy to say that he is officially a solution.

Before you call me crazy, here me out. Because right now, Arsenal have two big problems on defense. One is that Shkodran Mustafi isn’t mentally adept enough to play centerback reliably. Two is that rightback is about to be in a world of hurt without investment for next year.

Kill two birds with one stone – keep Mustafi as a utility defender with a primary aim of letting him spot start at rightback when necessary.

Think about it like this. What are the primary attributes that make Mustafi still stand out as such a talented footballer? It’s his athleticism, his drive, his fearlessness going forward. Athleticism is a good trait for a centerback, but drive and getting forward? Not so much.

He isn’t positionally savvy, he doesn’t hold his line very well and all in all, he is a bit small for a centerback, no matter what he makes up for with his hops.

I don’t know why it never occurred to me (or anyone else) sooner, but after seeing him slotted out at rightback against Southampton, it dawned on me that Mustafi does have the makings of a really good right back.

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And he showed that. He got forward with tremendous speed and attacking prowess and his attacking chops were better used when we weren’t worried if he’d be able to get back to help defend the counter attack through the middle.

He showed an ability to managed the ball, completing two dribbles (second most on the team) and he was only dispossessed once, which eliminated another concern of having him get further forward.

Mustafi has always been a bit of a loose cannon centerback because he knows he has the ability to get forward and he knows he can control the ball better than your average centerback, so why not let him play to his strengths and slot him out in a position that better suits him?

We may have to teach him how to cross a ball effectively, but he was causing legitimate problems on that right hand side, and it wasn’t a fluke.

Use him at rightback so we don’t have to invest in another, and then we can focus on investing in a centerback that can justify moving Mustafi into a fullback role. Boom. Problem(s) solved.