Arsenal and Shkodran Mustafi: Sell him yesterday

Shkodran Mustafi made another clanging mistake in Sunday’s 3-2 loss to Crystal Palace. Arsenal should sell the defender yesterday, no matter how little the price.

It had been a while. Oddly enough, Shkodran Mustafi had still been playing poorly without making the usual, brain-numbing injuries. But it was seen as a positive nonetheless precisely because those errors were no longer present. And then, just at the opportune moment, with Arsenal presented the opportunity of moving into third with a win over Crystal Palace on Sunday, he decided to drop perhaps his biggest clanger.

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A loose ball flicked off a defender and looped over the head of Mustafi — that, by the way, was his first mistake. He was positioned too high up the pitch and got caught out. It is often the case that latter, more glaring errors, stem from subtle, positional mistakes earlier in moves. It is why the best defenders often look boring.

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Mustafi got to the ball first, however. Wilfried Zaha was on his back and the ball bounced awkwardly, but he had the chance to deal with. A simple header back to Bernd Leno or hooked clearance would have sufficed. Instead, and I no matter how much I ponder on this, I don’t think I will ever even imagine what he was trying to do, Mustafi stepped to his right and gestured as if Leno should come out and clear the ball. Zaha did not hesitate to pounce and roll an easy shot past the now stranded Leno.

This was not his only glaring mistake on the day either. For Christian Benteke’s opener, Mustafi, who was marking the Belgian, allowed the six-foot-plus monster a free run into the penalty area to smash a header past Leno. I have some sympathy — some. Arsenal were defending with a high line, which is now the norm from such situations, and Mustafi wanted to play offside. Had Carl Jenkinson not dropped two yards behind the defensive line at the back post, Benteke would have been caught offside.

Nevertheless, although the mistake in play was not as schoolboy-like, the lack of communication, organisation and leadership before the freekick was taken was laughable, and a direct consequence of Mustafi, or Laurent Koscielny, not taking charge. Mistakes at every level, and basic ones at that.

All this leads me to say something that is far from revelationary: Shkodran Mustafi must be sold yesterday. It is time. In all reality, it was time last summer, but with centre-back needing more numbers and experience, Unai Emery’s hand was forced. That should not be the case this time around.

I would, in fact, go as far to say that I would be willing to sell Mustafi for literally any price. Even if someone offered nothing but were happy to take his wages on, I would be more than happy for Arsenal to do the deal. There is no reason to keep an overpaid, costly defender at the club. You could very well make the argument that Mustafi has singlehandedly cost his team a fourth-place finish and Champions League football. That, in and of itself, is horribly costly.

It is time for Mustafi to leave. It has been time for a long time. But now, I feel like the club may finally have caught on.