According to Calcio Mercato, AC Milan, under the sage-like guidance of our former CEO Ivan Gazidis, are said to be interested in signing Shkodran Mustafi this summer.
It’s widely expected that Arsenal will try and offload the Germany international in the summer as Unai Emery looks to strengthen a defence that conceded 51 goals in the Premier League.
The boss has defended the centre-back when he’s come under-fire this season but he’s also fallen behind Sokratis and Laurent Koscielny in the pecking order.
Under contract until 2021, the 27-year-old is a relatively marketable commodity. He has experience playing in both Italy (Sampdoria, 2012-14) and Spain (Valencia (2014-16) and has a World Cup winner’s medal.
While there’s little chance of recouping all of the crazy £35 million fee we splashed out three years ago, we could probably get half of that.
Mustafi was heavily linked with a return to Italy after just one year at the Emirates. On that occasion, Arsene Wenger was willing to offload him to Inter Milan or Juventus in the hope of signing Jonny Evans as a replacement. In the end, the terms didn’t suit Mustafi.
AC Milan are said to be looking to replace 32-year-old Colombian international Cristian Zapata and are apparently open to a loan deal for Mustafi if they can’t meet Arsenal’s asking price.
In today’s issue of Gazetta dello Sport, it’s claimed Gazidis would like to restructure Milan’s recruitment philosophy around scouting and signing young players. This wouldn’t really fit that, but who knows.
The transfer window may have opened but with Arsenal counting down to Baku it’s unlikely we’re looking to do any business until the season is properly done and dusted.
“AC Milan are said to be looking to replace 32-year-old Colombian international Cristian Zapata and are apparently open to a loan deal for Mustafi if they can’t meet Arsenal’s asking price.”
We are actually charging something?
No to loans. Just sell him/give him away.
I think Mustafi is a great character to have around as he is clearly liked in the dressing room. He always comes across like a nice man. And I was really impressed with his gesture not long ago, where he handed his shirt to a disabled fan after a game. His heart is clearly in the right place. And he did always try to give his best, but as we know, his best just hasn’t been anywhere near good enough really. Honestly at times I have felt sorry for him as clearly needed time out of the team as his… Read more »
@IamaGoober true, I think he’s a nice man and that was a good gesture giving his shirt, but I think we can all agree that nice doesn’t cut it at Arsenal FC if you aren’t good on the pitch. It’s all been a downward spiral for Mustafi. I saw some videos of all the players celebrating after we got into the Europa final when we won at the Mestalla, but Mustafi looked forlorn, a little overwhelmed too but not in the moment at the same time. His confidence definitely has plummeted, at 27 he also expects to be in a… Read more »
Youre probably right about him being a nice person. Just wish he would act with the same mannerism on the pitch as he does of it. But then again you could say that about a lot of footballers.
A bag of chips should do the trick
Ivan G can buy Mustafi for £35,000,001..
One of my least favourite Arsenal players ever. On his day he can be good but it’s the whinging and moaning that’s made me dislike him. Everything I don’t want in an Arsenal player. Get rid.
Agreed. The issue isn’t just that he’s bad, we’ve had bad defenders for ages. It’s that he always digs out his own teammates for his own mistakes. His never-my-fault attitude (a) unsettles team harmony and most importantly (b) stops him from learning and getting better. It’s sheer arrogance really.
What I can see: (1) Mustafi is usually quite good, especially on aerial clearances. (2) He occasionally makes disastrous mistakes, and they occur far too often for him to continue in the team. (3) Because those mistakes are so obvious and devastating, supporters blame him for errors committed by others, or ignore the errors (surely Monreal, a player I like, has cost us more points recently than Mustafi). (4) There is nothing to indicate Mustafi “unsettles team harmony” or anything else like that.
What I can see Mustafi is not a natural defender and tries to make up for it by (1) leaving his feet wherever possible; (2) blaming others whenever possible; (3) defending thin air on corners to give the impression he’s having a go. I don’t care when or how it went wrong (if it ever did), but he simply has to go, he’s beyond horrible.
And, yes, we need better than we currently have too, Koscielny aside, but doing better than Muttface won’t be hard.
Torreira has made as many calamitous mistakes this season.
Against Soton, West Ham, BHA in a spell either side of Xmas (not to mention United and Liverpool) he was fleeced off or gave away the ball 6 or 7 times in critical areas that cost us 4 goals leading to 11 points dropped.
So he’s cost us the league too.
He’s cleared more aerial threats than most of the other players.
Plus he has put in several critical blocks.
So you say he cost the league but last game against Burnley he made the block. Had the goal went in we would have potentially shed 2 further points.
At the same time Auba missed the easy opportunity against BHA. Had that gone in he would have been outright Golden boot winner but crucially we would be 2 points better off and ahead of Spurs in 4th.
Man, Gazidis must be feeling so guilty for shafting us!
Don’t think Ivan does guilt
Gazidis is incapable of shame or guilt.
All businessmen are sociopaths
For 88 minutes every game, Mustafi looks like a really good defender. For 88 minutes. For the other 2 minutes, cover your eyes because you can’t unsee the atrociousness
My guess is that they will go through the whole process, Mustafi will go to the obligatory physical, he will see Gazidis and in his excitement will jump at Ivan and catch him with a two-footed tackle (because Mustafi gonna Mustafi), causing Milan to call the whole thing off and we are stuck with him.
That math doesn’t add up. Where are 10 minutes he spends waving his arms about like an inflatable air puppet?
I’m ready to take him from Baku to Milan straight after the game if the club covers the fuel.
To be honest, I’ll pay your fuel or drive myself, it’s all for the greater good
It’s a long journey and I’m up for some company. Let’s share the driving and have a laugh along the way. It could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship AND we offload Mustafi at the same time.
Win win!
I will over the cost of fuel buddy.
Gazidis seems good at leading traditionally top teams to be towards the bottom of the other strong teams. AC Milan currently 5th in the league, sounds familiar.
https://www.whoscored.com/Teams/80/Show/Italy-AC-Milan shows they are bad at defending leads. Sounds familiar and Mustafi can help a lot to keep that going.
Bye bye Musti!?
Give them for free
Mustafi.
I tallied 7 points that Mustafi personally gave up in moments of– stupidity. Not that he made a mistake. Not that the opposing player showed more talent or guile.
But 7 points to Mustafi’s bare-naked stupidity.
If Arsenal do not win the Europa League final and earn a slot in next season’s Champions League? I will, for the entire year, refer to the Europa League competition Arsenal will be stuck playing in next season as:
The Mustafi League — in his (dis)honor.
Palace away (2pts), Sp*rs at Wembley (2pts), Palace at home (3pts) I assume. There’s a lot more he did wrong that led to goals conceded which people forget, but these three games’ mistakes really stood out
Yessir. Nailed it.
And TBH? I get when a player makes a mistake– or is outplayed by talent.
Conceding goals happens in football.
Conceding a Champions League slot all by one’s self? Is beyond the pale.
Good riddance.
What about Xhaka?
What about Torreira?
he cost us 11 points against BHA, Soton away, West Ham and Liverpool on either side of Xmas (not to mention United)
Gave away the ball in critical area or was robbed off of it 6 or 7 times of which 4 led directly to goals against us.
That’s 11 points.
Well, there are different ways of counting. Surely Aubameyang can be charged with the two points lost at Wembley. (Just to be clear: I am very happy to have Aubameyang at Arsenal and would start him every match possible.)
When Mustafi gets in difficulties he just stops playing. Then he falls over or stands there waving his arms about. As a result he cost us a top 4 finish.
Anyone can make a mistake, or get beaten by skill. Anyone can fail to score a penalty.
But to stop playing? Stop trying? I have never seen anyone act the way Mustafi does and still be in the team.
He’s not the only one.
Doesnt the transfer window open in July?
Opens in June and shuts down on the eve of the new season my man. As for Jinxstafi, https://youtu.be/52roqup9cm0
Hahahahahaha!!!! That genuinely made my weekend, cheers mate!
Get a crowbar and pry the fucker open! Crowdfunding air fare anyone?
Half the purchase fee is more than we normally get.
Snatch their hand off!
Bite their effing hand off!
Mustafi does some very goods things, but lapses in concentration let him down.
If we can get £45million for Mustafi+Chambers? Hopefully we can an upgrade.
Everyone seems to be looking for defenders, and as erratic as Mustafi is at times, we still need to find someone better within our budget, there’s not much value in selling Mustafi for €20million, only to replace him with a player of similar quality.
Similar quality is just fine (Tarkowski, Zouma?).
Just less of the stupid is an upgrade.
Maybe I am missing something, but why Chambers too? Seeing how Rob Holding made strides forward this year and that Chambers has had a solid enough season on loan, I was hoping he would be used next season. He has PL experience and we aren’t going to get enough from his sale to get someone who will be an improvement, so I feel like we should keep him, for next season at least. Of course I am not suggesting we don’t bring any other defender in too! We badly need defensive reinforcement and one player coming in won’t really solve… Read more »
Its likely either or. 1) Mavropanos is half baked and not even near Mustafi at the moment. Needs to go on loan. 2) even with new Cback, we have Sokratis and Holding which makes 3. Monreal will likely be kept to cover Kolasinac so he should only be a 5th choice on account of need of availability in case we lose Kolasinac. 3) We have other priority areas to fill (Rwing, CM) which will(should) cost. Thereby we will likely retian one as a 4th choice. Chambers depends on assessment bc as decent as he was for Fulham, Fulham were abject.… Read more »
As long as we have a replacement he should go
ARSENAL dont need too sell Mustafi,Give Him AWAY FOR FREE.
Do you promise blogs…??
How does Gazidis earn millions a year to make decisions like this?!? Not that I’m complaining or anything
I rste mustafi on the same level as henry, rvp, fabregas, cole and vieira. Thry broke my heart when they left. Mustafi’s breaking my heart cos he’s still around
It seems we have found his ideal replacement:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0jz0dnpQK8
The spectacle starts at 1:14.
That guy belongs to Stoke. Mustafi may be stupid but he is no thug
Well got to say, I really enjoyed the tackle around the 2 minute mark. Reminds me a little of big Sol. Got the ball, then wiped out the man (and didn’t really appear to hurt him badly or anything!) I know that this would probably be penalised nowadays in the PL, but having seen some really godawful Mustafi slide tackles over the past season, that was more like it.
Yikes. No thanks.
No loans ffs.
I’ll drive him there myself
Have you got room for ‘Ozil’ & Miki as well.
I don’t know what made me more happy, being told I was cancer free after a 5 year battle…….or that Mustafi waffi flappi might be on his way out of Arsenal. Good luck whoever is on the plan with him as he’s so accident prone! Mustafi “umm excuse me stuadess, is this the toilet door?” NO MUSTAFI DONT! News flash – 200 people killed on a flight to Milan
Congrats on getting cancer free!!!
?
Haaa! Nearly spat out my coffee!
??????
Apparently, followers of Arseblog were outraged and offended by the ‘Mikhi in gulag’ joke (a comment on a recent thread) but they are ok with ‘Mustafi and 199 others dying in an airplane crash’ joke (Presently, out of 21 who registered their response, 14 people like it).
I think, it is pretty clear that which one is darker but it seems like the acceptance or rejection of dark humor on here is based on the preference (or not) for the player at whom the joke is aimed.
Double stabdards much?
So, did Kronke pay Ivan to go to Milan so he can buy up all out shit players for loads of money?? Like when you set up a new Manager in Football Manager to offload your shit to before retiring him??
People are hysterical about Mustafi. They don’t actually watch the games, they just see what they want to see. He’s NOT the biggest problem. There are other bigger problems including blah blah blah blah…..mislintat wasn’t very good, PANIC LOAN ERA…..blah blah blah blah
(hopefully this will stop santori writing another pointless essay nobody is interested in reading although somehow I doubt it)
Thought you were santori in disguise, man
Even Arsenal Fan TV have exhibited more levity on Mustafi recently than some people on these threads.
He doesn’t need to disguise as me. I will weigh in my usual common sense.;)
We should have bought Mahrez.
Should have.
Mhkitaryan has been a waste of time.
Heh! Literally wrote an almost identical post then read further down the comments and saw yours. ?
And he’s right.
People don’t bother watching games and pontificate out of their arses mainly.
He clears and tackles more than many care to give him credit for and he adds strength in the air.
Without him against Wolves, we struggled with aerial threats. Also in that game, it was Sokratis-Koscielny the partnership many of these same people wanted.
We leaked 3 goals.
Mustafi is the one that cost us? Think again. And think harder.
Pay them whatever they are asking!
Hopefully it will be a perm deal as opposed to a loan. Mustafi is not the kind of player you offer on a “try before you buy”!
Fingers crossed he moves permanently. The most inept defender we’ve had since Silvestre.
Not really. Watch Koscielny’s first season.
It was littered with mistakes.
Red cards, penalties conceded and own goals galore.
And look where he is now.
What! Someone wants him? Quick! Sap a pretty red bow on him and ship him off.
Wenger had the right idea eh lol gazidis is still a mug
Always liked Ivan. Don’t forget to come back for Kolasinac, Xhaka, Elneny, Ozil & Mhiki. Thanks for those!
Santi Carzola was also Ivan then?
Carlsberg don’t make Arseblog News articles. But if they did………….
He would fit into the Gattuso “Maybe good, maybe shit.” style quite nicely. Please rid us of this poor dysfunctional man.
Sold!
this, this is great news.
Cue Santori and his Mustafi boner…
“Mustafi is not the most error prone contrary to popular sentiment. BUT Torreira has made errors resulting to dropped points that no one is talking about… Sven did a shit job, blah, blah, throw in a Flamini for good measure.”
Bless it.
And here I am.
Have you bothered to watch those games again?
Probably not.
Most people just talk out of their arse and follow the media line.
Sheep.
Watch those games again.
I’ll make them the best deal in the world! They can have Mustafi for free and under a buy one, get two sale they can have Elneny and Xhaka as well!
You can’t even sell Jenkinson or Elneny for free.
Think its easy to sell Mustafi?
Probably will balk at price. He cost us (and Gazidis knows this) 35m (which was a bit too high for his capability) but ammortised now into his third season I believe he should be about 21m. Its rankly between him and potentially Chambers in shop window. Chambers (on account of local content) likely to fetch close to similar price (or at least we should hope to) One or the other may be sold depending on firm interest (and should those clubs also want to pay hefty wages as oppose to what else they can find in market) The other will… Read more »
People get too emotional on Mustafi without looking at facts.
Sure he has made mistakes and he needs to cut them out.
Is he first pick, probably not.
BUT he is a far better defender than most would give him credit for.
And we will need him (or Chambers) for depth.
A) its April fools day
B) Gazidis lost his mind
C) ???
scored winner against the spuds.
Do what Liverpool and city have done. Buy great proven premier league players. So they don’t give to take time to adapt. At city , walker, stones, Liverpool , mane, van dyke, Robertson half of Southampton , oxo chamberlain.
So using that logic we buy, Lewis dunk and Ryan Frazier , both had great seasons with best years ahead of them . Would both come for pay raise and European football. Get both for 60 m.