Arsenal: Assess Shkodran Mustafi both ways or not at all

Arsenal fans were quick to point out that they wanted Shkodran Mustafi gone after his mistake against Chelsea, but were they quick to praise him after? Nope.

Shkodran Mustafi made one of his typical mistakes against Chelsea. In a complete mental lapse, he misplayed a ball back to Bernd Leno, which led to David Luiz surrendering a penalty while getting sent off. Arsenal were supposed to be dead in the water after that penalty went in.

However, thanks largely in part to Shkodran Mustafi, they were not dead at all. They were very much alive and through the power of positive thinking, they were able to secure a point.

Again, a big part of why was Shkodran Mustafi. On the surface, having a back line centered on Mustafi and Granit Xhaka is enough to cause cardiac arrest, but in the end, these two were fantastic from the minute they were called on.

It’s easy to heap the blame on Mustafi, and many fans are. It’s always easier to have a scapegoat then and for some, it’s much better for their own “presence” if they are negative rather than positive.

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Which is why I’ve already penned my praise article of Granit Xhaka and why I am now doing the same for Mustafi.

We have always said that Mustafi is a very capable of defender who is often undone by singular moments of failure. It’s never been so stark as it was this time, like flipping a switch. Like he accepted the added pressure, and the criticism he had to know was coming, and performed better than I’ve ever seen him perform.

This may sound crazy, but after seeing how well he adjusted after that mistake, I am honestly really curious if something might have turned around for him. Maybe this was the mistake that changed things.

He was quick to apologize after the match, particularly to David Luiz, and before the match he was outspoken about how hard it’s been, dealing with the hatred on social media from “fans”. But all things considered, he’s still an immensely capable defender who just needs to sort out those momentary lapses. Is it too crazy to think this would have done it?

Mustafi deserves immense credit for his work post-mistake. Do not lose track of it. Don’t pin the match on one minute of failure when he had at least an hour of truly outstanding defensive work.