Arsenal vs Newcastle: 5 key players in another must-win

1. Shkodran Mustafi

I believe that Shkodran Mustafi has a future at the club. And I realize that makes me certifiable, and I realize that I have written him off countless times. But I’m an optimist. Maybe that makes me naive, I don’t care.

Shkodran Mustafi was tremendous against Burnley. It was one of those matches where I kept waiting for Mustafi to make a mistake that undid all of his hard work, but it never came. Mustafi was solid, unflappable and every bit the defender we have always needed him to be.

But it was just one match. If you want to start getting attention, especially in the massive deficit that Mustafi already lives in, you have to start stringing together a bunch of matches like that. Newcastle is an excellent opportunity to keep that going, and you can bet he is well aware of this.

Maybe Mikel Arteta has solved the Mustafi quandary. I’ve always said, he is one of the most physically capable defenders I’ve ever seen. It’s the mental problems that need fixing. Maybe Arteta fixed them. I am completely open to being convinced.

In the meantime, I will accept this game in isolation. In order to keep a clean sheet, Mustafi will have to be convincing yet again. No mistakes.