Shkodran Mustafi appears to be adapting to the Premier League and his partnership with Laurent Koscielny is developing nicely.
In a game where Arsenal had most of the possession, he made some important tackles, clearing headers and also won a couple of interceptions. Like any defender, he will be very disappointed that the team did not keep a clean sheet, especially after playing against 10 players for more than 45 minutes.
At the end of the day, if you concede a goal, 99% it is due to a mistake somewhere, so he will have to analyze alongside the rest of the team, why he was behind Mbokani in the lead up to Petr Cech’s foul and subsequent penalty.
On the attacking side, he tried to play a simple game in possession and did not do anything fancy like going forward to help the attackers like he did against Southampton. A lot of the time, it’s best to keep it simple, especially if you’re a defender.
His overall contribution in the 4-1 win was good and hopefully he will carry on improving so that the backbone of the defence gets more and more solid. He and Koscielny appear to be developing an understanding, which is crucial in any strong back four.
Wenger clearly trusts Mustafi enough to keep starting him and his faith in him appears to be paying off. Against Hull, he was far more assured and commanding, which in turn probably made the rest of the team far more relaxed and able to do their own jobs.
Long may it continue.