Arsenal vs Wolverhampton: No need for Shkodran Mustafi!

Arsenal won’t be needing Shkodran Mustafi as they face Wolverhampton, and I don’t know about you, but that makes everything seem much less stressful.

I don’t like saying bad things about any Arsenal players. I really don’t. I hate it. I support all of them and I hope they all become the best possible players they can be, even when they leave the club (assuming they don’t go to a rival).

But, that said, it gets a bit wearisome rooting for players that so clearly stress me out. Take, for instance, the difference between seeing an Arsenal XI anchored by Laurent Koscielny and Sokartis versus an XI anchored by one of those two and Shkodran Mustafi. For the former, I’m stoked and confident. For the latter, nervous as hell.

And I know I’m not alone. I truly appreciate Unai Emery’s willingness to defend Mustafi. I defended him for three years myself. But he’s not fooling anyone. Mustafi is a mistake machine, and that isn’t going to change between now and summer and, when he’s sold, we’ll all know that Emery was thinking the same.

Which leads me to my point – there is absolutely no reason to see Shkodran Mustafi against Wolverhampton, and I would be massively surprised and disappointed (and stressed) to see him listed in the starting XI.

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For the first time in awhile, the Gunners have both Koscielny and Sokratis available for a Premier League fixture. Which hasn’t been the case in three matches. Against Everton, Koscielny was hurt. Against Watford and Crystal Palace, Sokratis was suspended.

But against Wolverhampton, what was supposed to be the toughest match of the remainder of the season, both Koscielny and Sokratis will be available.

Assuming Unai Emery goes with the back three, that means those two will start, most likely with Nacho Monreal as the left-sided centerback. Ainsley Maitland-Niles, who was withheld against Crystal Palace, presumably to get a breather, will start as the right wingback.

If Emery wants to go with the back four, Koscielny and Sokratis will start in the middle with Maitland-Niles playing rightback because, again, Maitland-Niles was held out against Crystal Palace, meaning that he will be fit and firing in this one, no matter where he is played.

That means that there is absolutely no reason why Shkodran Mustafi should appear in the starting XI. No reason at all. And I don’t know about you, but that makes me feel really good about life.