Shkodran Mustafi says Arsenal can take confidence from their hard-fought 1-0 win over Burnley having proved their ability to win with steel rather than the style of recent weeks.
Laurent Koscielny snatched the three points for the Gunners with the last ‘kick’ of the ball after a frustrating afternoon that saw the home side repel wave after wave of attacks by Arsene Wenger’s men.
Speaking to Arsenal Player after the game, the Germany international reflected:
“It was all about coming here and giving everything. It suits us more to play against big teams because it’s not always easy to come to places like this and change from style to steel. But we showed that have good character and steel, and that’s what gave us the three points in the end.
“I keep saying that it’s important that we fight until the end. A football game is 90 minutes and then extra time.
“The great teams fight until the end because they know that there’s still an opportunity to score a goal and today we showed that. You have to play until the referee blows the whistle.
“It gives you confidence because this is not an easy place to come to. They know how to defend, defended until the end but we kept pushing until the end.
“It just showed us that we are capable of scoring from every situation, even in the last minutes. A win like this is important to us.”
Mustafi enjoyed a fine afternoon in the Gunners defence making 13 clearances, six tackles and two interceptions; a performance that earned him the Man of the Match gong from Arsenal’s supporters.
Mustafi will now head off on international duty with Germany for World Cup qualifiers against Czech Republic and Northern Ireland.
Excuse the language, but he was fucking great yesterday!
He could be such a clutch signing for us.
I especially enjoyed how it was him who kept shovelling crosses into the box towards the end. He must have put in 3 crosses in the space of 20 seconds.
True to his word in this interview, he really didn’t give up.
Yes. Pure class and determination from Mustafi. He should have a word with Ozil because his demeanor on the pitch was to give up by the 65th minute. Ozil is brilliant but his attitude worries me at times and needs to show the same grit and determination as Mustafi. #COYG
Ozil is obviously not the gritty type and often makes up for it with his vision and creativity. Too late in his career to turn him to a fighter. What I don’t understand is why it is such a touchy issue for Arsenal fans. Why do people get massively thumbed-down at the slightest mention of Ozil’s obvious weaknesses?
Because, its not an ‘Ozil, obvious weakness’…. Ozil, is just as much a fighter as Mustafi, Granit, Kozza etc…. But he has a different approach and style…
FFS he carried the team for almost a season, where were you?
It feels good to have players who are hungry at last! With a true competitive spirit. A very promising start to his Arsenal life.
is dumbness a requirement for pundits? watched the match in nigeria and end of first half, the pundits were pointing to mustafis errors/fouls (according to dem) on dia bigscreens. john terry does that n they will be shouting what a massive defender he is.
Seems stupidity in punditry is universal. Maybe even a requirement for the position.
Having said that, the few times I’ve watched it on US channels, apart from a bit weird to hear American accents doing the commentary, the level all round seems much higher.
The pundits were Englishmen though, not Nigerians.
But the general points stand.
I remember Graham Hunter saying he was a typical Premier League defender. And that he loved a sliding tackle. Um, yes.
I thought the way he best Costa last week against Chelsea was a fluke. But against a heavier and taller man in Vokes, he was remarkably. I think we now have a genuine defender that has potential of maturing into one comparable to the “Invincible” era.
I’m genuinely starting to like the idea of shopping in Germany for center halves. Per is and was a great influence on the side (especially considering the fucking STATE we were in when he joined) and Shkodran seems to be taking over that mantle. Long live Kostafi!
Vestergaard, Tah, Sule, Howedes.
All highly rated or promising defenders in Germany, so your right there
Plus I like the idea of having Germans playing in my team. Germany – the country that gave the world Goethe, Beethoven, Wagner, Kraftwerk, Herzog and now some fuck off footballers!
Jawohl!
Lol. You missed out Twastchloch.
Two nazis so far have thumbed down us having Germans playing for us. Anyone else wanna be a fucking nazi and thumb down our German players? Fucking twat knackers!
There is a saying, don’t mess with the Germans. Anyway Germany and Italy were always famed for producing legendary defenders. There was also a period where France used to produce great defenders. Till gallas appear…..
…Koscielny.
Love me some Kozza… what a dude….
Mustafi already looks a bargain and a key member of the team. Fingers (and everything else) crossed he comes back from international duty injury free!
And Mustafi is shaping up just fine… props to ‘tha Boss’ for his astute talent spotting, and nailing capabilities.. I;m really excited about this season… there is a co-cohesive vibe and it seems to me that the team has clicked….. oh, happy days….. COYG….. go for it….
There’s no way in hell you can say 38 mil is a bargain. Like in most things in life, you usually get what you pay for.
We’ve got a normal-sized fucking German!
the NFG?
I am completely loving how Mustafi has been bossing it alongside the boss himself since his arrival. he harasses opponents into making rushed desicions. and those sliding tackles.. woof, woof.
the thing i love most about our team this year is we have steel in all departments now. cech and ospina are world-class goalkeepers, kostafi is non-nonsense; the midfield is sublime, and the strikeforce is dangerous. too bad we missed the HFB; i think yesterday’s was his game to boot.
I can’t up-vote these two comments enough. For now and forever, Mustafi is the NFG!
He’s made a great start to his hopefully very long Arsenal career.
He loves to get stuck in!!
In times gone by, a player with the character and grit of Mustafi, would have seen Wenger been priced out of a deal, to the benefit of Manchester United or Chelsea. If Arsenal win the League this season, Shkodran Mustafi would have played a big role for the Gunners.
He was always heading to us, thanks to Ozil, who impressed on him that Arsenal would give him the platform to play the football he loves to play. He’s a ball-playing CB and he wouldn’t flourish in some clubs.
Absolutely, he is class and has fitted into the team seamlessly…. oh, joy….
I hate to say but gabs and per getting injured was an absolute blessing in disguise, We’ve picked up an absolute gem fellas and he’s only 24
Id say it was more than luck than grit that led to the win as they on balance looked more likely to win. Besided we needed to learn to grind out wins and be more persistent, and weve at least showed more composure to do this in the future. Ive been getting the feeling on here that some fans feel we dont need giroud as a starter anymore only as backup. This is tactically naive. Teams that play compact or deep and leave very little space to exploit then behind, are countered by Target Men like Giroud or Benteke not… Read more »
This is why xhaka should shoot more.
Frankly speaking, I thought Gabriel had similar physical attributes to kos and mustafi. Really hope he can mature quickly to take over the mantle too.
Solid Kostafi was all we needed all this while hmmm… Long may the glorious partnership Continue. COYG
We have a team of so many leaders now with Per, Kos, Santi, Xhaka, and more, but Mustafi looks like he could be a our long-term captain in a couple of seasons.
Kols in not a leader, and neither is Santi. And they don’t have to be. They are very very good at what they are.
How tall is he? Must be barely 6ft tall, He reminds me of a fullback more than a CB. He can certainly pick out a cross, Gabriel can’t do that.
6ft exactly
We got Gabriel for less than a thrid of Mustafi’s price. Let’s be mindful of that in comparing them.
Shkodran is a hardworking guy could be a future captain. His work rate is phenomenal, and he’s vocal too. Top buy ??
He is only 24 yrs and has all the qualities needed, imagine what the boss will make of him.
I would say that when you spend 35 million pounds on a center back, there should be minimum expectations. Everyone appears to be surprised that Mustafi is doing well. Despite that he’s a German international with a world cup medal.
Rubbish.
Chelsea spent 34m on David Luiz.
He’s an international too.
There was plenty of accolades for him in the press where in their wisdom they pronounced Mustafi a panic buy (despite Luiz signed on deadline day)
And they said Mustafi would not suit Arsenal. Wenger was ‘desperate’ like he was when he panic bought Ozil for a whopping 42.3m quid.
😉
An insight on the boss
Some people need to learn a bit of humility and understand their limitations. Alexis would not work up top. Walcott should not be kept (guilty) Don’t play Ospina Champion’s League Mustafi is a panic buy. Wenger doesn’t know how to buy defenders like Sol Campbell, Laurent Koscielny Wenger doesn’t know how to develop players like Bellerin, Iwobi, Coquelin Wenger doesn’t know how to switch players like Alexis to new positions or roles like Arteta, Santi, Henry, Kolo Toure, RVP… Fact is these people need to learn a bit of humility and ADMIT they have been wrong MANY times. Before they… Read more »