Transfer Balls: Mustafi is ready to leave Arsenal
Vilifying one footballer for a team’s poor performances is brutal. And Shkodran Mustafi hasn’t been all bad for Arsenal. Or maybe the take away from the The Sun’s Top Trumps-style compare and contrast with Manchester United’s £85m recruit Harry Maguire sheds light less on the German’s abilities than Maguire’s hugely inflated fee. Both played 31 games for their respective sides. Their record for last season is as follows – both players featured in 31 games for Arsenal and Leicester City, respectively:
- Blocks – Maguire 18, Mustafi 17
- Interceptions – Maguire 37, Mustafi 58
- Tackles – Maguire 31, Mustafi 62
- Tackles won – Maguire 17, Mustafi 45
- Percentage of tackles won – Maguire 55%, Mustafi 73%
- Clearances – Maguire 152, Mustafi 161
- Headed clearances – Maguire 77, Mustafi 106
- Aerial duels won – Maguire 118, Mustafi 123
A more telling stat is that Arsenal new-boy David, Luiz completed more successful passes per 90 minutes than Mustafi. When you’re playing the passing game, Mustafi’s slow, misplaced passes hinder the team. Arsenal are better without him.
A statement from his father and representative Kujtim Mustafi gives points to an imminent transfer: “Shkodran had a great time with Arsenal. We still have a contract for two years and can imagine to stay in London. However the best for both sides is probably to work on a transfer. But for that it also needs market-driven transfer-fees.”
Arsenal may care to present the Sun’s findings in their sales package. And if the buying club only looks at those stats and not his tendency to wander out of position and lump the ball to no-one in particular, Mustafi could go for a fortune.
Posted: 24th, August 2019 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
