Unai Emery says he has no problem with Shkodran Mustafi’s decision to stay at Arsenal despite making it clear this summer that he was happy for the German to leave the club.
A couple of Italian clubs are said to have been sniffing around the defender this summer but having signed for the Gunners on big wages, negotiating personal terms was always going to be difficult. It probably didn’t help that Arsenal fans kept highlighting in minute detail how unreliable he is.
To be fair to Mustafi, he probably would have gone had a decent offer been made but you can hardly blame him for sticking things out at the Emirates. Emery seems to have taken a similar view of the situation.
“Mustafi decided to be here and when he did, for me, he is another player like the others in the team,” Emery told press on Friday.
“Of course I respect his decision and, when he decided, I spoke with him and said ‘for me you are in the squad and I am going to work with you as with the other players’.
“I don’t know all exactly what was in his decision (to stay) but, when we spoke and he decided to be here, it was a start with him as another player in the squad.
“He is working every day with a big motivation and good experience. That is what we want, training with good experience, helping and, after, giving us his performance.”
Arsenal are likely to start Sokratis and David Luiz in the centre of defence against Watford on Sunday and also have English duo Calum Chambers and the newly fit Rob Holding to call upon. Dinos Mavropanos is working his way back from a groin problem and is another who could potentially feature in the cup competitions this season.
I also work everyday with big motivation and good experience. Please give me a game.
Honestly he is not such a bad player……
I see what you did there…
In fact, this is the second time he managed to stay. Remember Wenger wanted to sell him after one season in the club and nonody knew why?
I remember this so clearly…obviously Wenger must have seen a lot of him in training..he had a good season that year and fans were quick to jump in his favor and rule the move out… Just goes to show that fans will always be just fans and coaches always have the better assessment on players even when he is putting up a chamelon’s performance
our best CB …bar holding. Better than Sokratis the foul, Luiz the bumbler and Chambers the slow.
… and you consider yourself a fan?
yeah….true fans boo Mustafi while celebrating the Dortmund and Chelsea rejects who let in 3 goals against Liverpool. No team, none, in the league, has so abjectly bent over, licked the boots and accepted their inferiority, like bummery made us do against Liverpool.
I agree with the second part, but how on earth can you say Mustafi is our best CB? So many brainfarts with this guy, he just does not change or learn… Emery is sh1te, yes, but he is the one transmitting this midtable/underdog mentality to the players, if he chose to believe they would believe more too (at Lpool, vs Spuds etc).
Another toxic supporter who cannot see that Emery has improved the team and with the influx of new players must be given time.
Hey now Shaka, you didn’t mention that he’s also better than our former player sanogo the forward.
it could be good having mustafi around, he really isnt bad for a 4/5th option, really!
And we all know about arsenal and injuries 🙁
His speed is ok. He sometimes makes good interceptions and he connects well with midfield. But as a CB he gets hypnotised by the ball and tend to ignore what is happening around him. Hence costly mistakes, to the tune of 4-5 goals last season.
Hes actually a good player if he can cut out all the mustafi-ness from his game
Any defender without flaws is a good defender.
Only problem is when Mustafi and Xhaka make a mistake, it costs us. Because these are the games where we are winning by one goal or drawing. It doesn’t help when we have a misfiring attack.
Pépé has only misfired so far but perceived as the saviour. That’s the difference between defence and attack. Luiz started same day as Pépé but I have already criticized Luiz a lot.
So far Pepe’s end product meager. But what worries more is his technique. His finishing and crossing and through-ball techniques are on bar with Gervinho.
Hopes it’s only so because of his freshness to the PL and such.
Tho I still don’t think that is a convincing excuse for a lack of technical ability.
Shhhh…nobody here likes it when you say the truth about Pepe’s end product this season
As he was regarded as the 5th best player in Europe last season with regards to goals and assists your analysis is rubbish. Yes he has been misfiring in terms of goals but to criticise his technical ability is amazing. From what I have seen he has the potential to be one of the most exciting signings since Sanchez
Whether he’s good or bad, he’s an Arsenal player so let’s treat him like one and not constantly boo him. Can you imagine being constantly booed at work…
If I say ‘yes’ what does that say about my personality and job performance?
Haha. very good.
LOL
Imagine making decisions at work that cost the company millions in cash and emotions. That’s what Mustafi is. If this was in the work place, you can be sure that he won’t be promoted, his bosses won’t have confidence in him, he may have been fined a couple of times and by now surely would have been given up to 3 strikes. If all he gets is boos and a hefty pay cheque, Matt, he is lounging trust me.
At work it wont be boos, just a quiet word in his ear. But the fans do not have that possibility, so boo it is.
arsenal fans are now toxic and damaging for the club.
Should we sign some new fans?
In essence, football is entertainment, and the spectators have the right to voice their opinions of any performer on stage. Might I say, a paid-for-right to voice their opinions.
Of course, tho it’s within their rights, it rarely helps helps, and most times said performer is not going to perform better after getting booed.
He’s 5th or 6th choice but needs to stay fit and sharp so we can sell him in Jan – I can see him in Carabao and maybe Europa squads on the bench with Chambers and Holding starting ahead of him
I see what you guys are doing and I commend you
Let’s hope we can keep this up until January.
Of course Emery had to say that after THAT previous STATEMENT, a showcase of his abject man management skills.
His impressive trophy collection suggests he’s pretty damn good at man management, thank you very much
three loser cups? where no one ever wanted to play? didnt you see him bend over and present his arse during the last final he managed
A double and a treble at PSG doesn’t count I suppose
Wonder how will you rate Zidane’s man management skills , who is treating Bale far worse. UE and others are just clearing the mess left by the previous regime especially Gazidis.
No. Wenger.
How anyone can blame Gazidis over Wenger for the sub-standard, lopsided and aging squad Emery inherited is beyond me. It just highlights the cult like flowing he amassed.
still good enough not to play 5 at the back against brighton and frikking tank the game…he is pathetic
AP, the man who constantly abuses other Gooners for not supporting the players/management enough & says they are not real supporters. Wow. Just wow.
abject opinion.
Accommodate him all you like, just don’t play him.
I am happy to accommodate him in my garage. Can’t give him the spare room as I wouldn’t trust him not to slide tackle me on the stairs on the way up.
Except for his wage cost, there’s no harm in having some squad depth if things get really bad. For all their spending, it’s amazing that City are so short at CB.
Translation:
“Well, I told him to go, he decided to stay, I honestly can’t say why… I couldn’t possibly have been any clearer, I mean just look at all these fucking brochures I bought him. But anyway, we still have to pay him actual money when he shows up, so I’m going to just have to try and find something for him to do. He’s an experienced man, so he knows where the cones go for the training drills, so that’s nice, that’s a start. We’ll see how he manages with that and we’ll take it from there.”
i think ozil got the cones job. maybe he got the bibs one?
I actually feel like he might turn he’s fate around once he gets his chance. Being dropped might actually help him analyze his game more as it might give him some time to reflect on what he did wrong and how to fix that and i hope he’s fifa ratings might be a little confidence booster that he needed.
I think him deciding to stay put and fight for his place back is an admirable thing to do despite the abuse he endured from the fans and it shows that he’s got character!
That’s a false title, and disappointing on your part.
He’s only saying he’ll treat him humanly. Let’s not forget he asked him to leave 3 times already !!!
I don’t trust Luiz. Period.
I trust Mustafi less.
Mustafi: another Wenger headache that needs to be dealt with. He and Ozil are the two biggest problems at the club right now.
When they leave, you’ll find the next biggest problems in the team. That’s all you see in the team – problems.
To compare Özil with Mustafi… anyway hope arsenal will compete within the top 4 and İ am pretty sure, Özil will be part of the show
As long as it doesn’t mean that he’ll play often, accommodate him all he wants.
It’s not ideal but as we managed to shift s lot of unwanted players this window and bring in some unexpectedly good ones we can’t complain. He can be used in EL, early FA games and as a sub when we’re a few goals up against so called lesser teams.
I agree, we had a good window and you can’t have everything. As long as he’s nowhere near the first team it shouldn’t be a problem. Hopefully something can be sorted out in January for everyone’s sake, I’m sure he’s not in the best position mentally now as well. He needs games and we all need to move on.
UnairBnB
Honestly Mustasfi is far better than the dou currently playing our center back, Mustafi was always being pair with a weaker defender, and I am happy that he stay.
Haha!
Gonna be positive about this, since that seems in short supply!
Time for the rebirth of Mustafi. I’m going to hope this experience of almost leaving and some time out of the team changes his perspective a bit, helps him get his head down and focus, and comes back with less mistakes in his game.
Not playing and getting shredded by the fans (understandable as the criticism may be!) might get him some of his confidence back and he might become reliable again, he wasn’t half bad when we first got him.
Glass half full today lads!
Since the start of of the preseason tour at Colorado in July– to January 1st, open of the TW?
Shkodran Mustafi will have banked £3,500,000.
Not a matter of whether he’s good or not.
He’s taking unearned money that could benefit the club– and taking a first team spot that might benefit a young player who would learn from exposure to the first team.
I’m happy to accommodate him as well, we have a lovely spare room, Apparently he’s a very decent chap….
I wouldn’t however, let him anywhere near a football pitch or even my back lawn at the moment!
Waaaay off topic, but van persie seems to have taken Per’s remark on players not necessarily repaying Wenger’s faith with performances on himself. “He can say what he wants”. Wonder why that is.
even norwich, palace, leceister, wolves etc are more watchable than Arsenal. Something needs to change, and mediocrity cannot be accepted as the norm.
delusional.
Emery happy to accommodate Mustafi… But we’re not.
Not anyworse than Luiz.
If any other managers or agents are reading this comment thread, I just want to say Mustafi is a born winner and a fans’ favourite. Imagine all the shirt sales he’d generate… He’s easily worth 50 million and is only in the reserves at the moment to protect him for our most important must-win games. I’d be gutted if he left. Inconsolable. The team that buys him is virtually guaranteed to win trophies.
In Mustafi we trust? What can Emery really say about this, though? I’m very certain Mustafi will continue to train with the team with big motivation … it’s just that important bit he’ll struggle with, making squad selection.
Considering the way Luiz has started, Unai may as well, keep Mustafi under consideration.
Can’t agree more. Arsenal are poor at the back. They ship in goals with or without Mustafi. Look at Luiz vs Liverpool or the comical defending against spurs. But if its Mustafi, the errors become more amplified. Mustafi isn’t infallible by any means, but he’s no worse than Luiz or Papa. That defense needs overhaul. There are games this season I would have preferred Mustafi over Luiz.
For all the criticism Mustafi receives he’s not half bad compared to the howlers Xhaka can muster. In the same Crystal Palace game where Mustafi bottled it against Zaha, Xhaka made a terrible attempt to stifle the opposition attack leading to a certain penalty. What a dead brain Xhaka really has. No offence to people suffering mental disabilities
They are not the only ones.
Luiz himself has already made 3 blunders.
Torreria in midfield last season gave the ball away (or was fleeced) 5 or 6 times 4 of which led directly to goals against us over Xmas.
You must be pretty bias to only single these two out or have chickenshite
understanding of what you are watching.
Don’t understand why we would be starting Sideshowbob.
An older version of Mustafi. Already so many blunders.
Not sure what some people are on.
And not sure why Chambers hasn’t got the confidence of the gaffer given the calamity that has been Sideshowbob.
Might as well keep Mustafi as an option considering.
We can then have the fantastic pairing of Mustafi Sideshowbob to look forward to.
Your bias is fooling nobody, Mrs. Mustafi. Appreciate hes your son but even you must admit hes a bit shit.
I didnt know so many people were against Unai. I mean where do you think we should be in the table? 1st? Lol Last years late season choke job was just as much on the players as the manager.