Pain in the Arsenal
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Arsenal Vs Norwich City: 5 things we learned – Mikel Arteta rebuild continues

By Andrew Dowdeswell

Arsenal (Photo by Chloe Knott - Danehouse/Getty Images)
Arsenal (Photo by Chloe Knott - Danehouse/Getty Images) /
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LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 01: Shkodran Mustafi of Arsenal controls the ball during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Norwich City at Emirates Stadium on July 01, 2020 in London, England. Football Stadiums around Europe remain empty due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in all fixtures being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 01: Shkodran Mustafi of Arsenal controls the ball during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Norwich City at Emirates Stadium on July 01, 2020 in London, England. Football Stadiums around Europe remain empty due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in all fixtures being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images) /

4. This is the Shkodran Mustafi problem

After showing a significant uptick in form under Mikel Arteta thus far, Shkodran Mustafi produced one of his worst performances of the season. It started early on. He was slow to release passes, then when he did pass the ball, he either forced it into gaps that weren’t there or turned and played balls all the way back to Emiliano Martinez.

The many touches he took on the ball are hugely detrimental to Arsenal’s play out from the back. It may not seem like much, but every half second is vital. Playing passes first or second-time, playing them quickly and accurately such that the receiver can play a subsequent quickly and accurately is vital. At his worst, Mustafi does not play in this manner and it leaves his teammates in impossible situations.

In the first half, he completed just 78% of his passes. Only Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang completed passes at a worse rate. 78% is a poor level for a midfielder or attacker, for a centre-back in a back three who is meant to control the match via extended periods of possession, it is an atrocious level. That he had 10.3% possession, almost 2.5% more than any other player, goes to show how slow he was to release passes. This was Mustafi at his absolute worst.