It’s an exciting and rare time for Arsenal supporters as we prepare ourselves for another two new first-team acquisitions before the transfer window closes.

Arsène Wenger has been heavily criticised over the past few years for being overly cautious with his finances but as all of our rivals continue to strengthen year-by-year, it’s important we do the same if we’re to challenge for silverware on a regular basis and avoid a repeat of the frustrating mishaps of previous seasons.

Valencia’s Shkodran Mustafi is expected to be officially unveiled as an Arsenal player sometime on Tuesday and the centre-back represents a big step in the right direction for a club who’ve been accused of going backwards since the Invincibles season.

Who is Shkodran Mustafi?

Mustafi, born in Germany to Albanian parents, is a 24-year-old defender who operates in the heart of defence as a right-sided centre-back. He rejected approaches from Bayern, Dortmund and Schalke to join Hamburg’s academy at the age of 14 – and at 17 decided upon leaving his comfort zone to play in the Premier League.

Joining Everton on a free transfer back in 2009, he was eager to prove his quality but found opportunities hard to come by as he featured heavily in the Toffees’ u21 side. Unhappy after a lack of first-team minutes, he departed Goodison Park with only 14 minutes of senior football under his belt – which came in a UEFA Europa League cameo.

Sampdoria was next for Mustafi and he made up for lost time to good effect: featuring heavily from November onwards in the 2012/13 campaign. Playing at both right-back and in the centre of defence, he was able to find his feet at a crucial time in his development.

Serie A football was the perfect stepping stone to greater things, and his invitation to Germany’s 2014 World Cup training camp after 61 appearances at various youth levels was testament to his quality. Marco Reus’s unfortunate injury paved the way for Mustafi to force himself into the senior backline – which he did, before suffering an injury of his own during their 2-1 (AET) victory over Algeria in the last-16.

Germany went onto win the World Cup and Mustafi was rewarded with a £6m move to Valencia. Alongside Nicolas Otámendi, the pair formed a resolute partnership as Los Che exceeded expectations and secured a top-four finish. Otámendi opted for pastures new when Manchester City came calling last summer, and Mustafi was excellent even in the Argentine’s absence as he continued improving and earned a place in Joachim Löw’s Euro 2016 squad.

Playing the full 90 minutes in their first group stage game against Ukraine, he kept a clean sheet and scored one too. With that being said he wasn’t seen again until their final fixture of the competition, a 2-0 defeat against France, as Mats Hummels was the preferred centre-back option utilised.

It’s no surprise his stock has continued to rise and after being left out of Valencia’s matchday squad to face Eibar on Saturday, it seems only a matter of time before the proposed transfer to Arsenal is complete.

Style of play and strengths

It’s refreshing to see someone with Mustafi’s personality. He’s someone who has worked hard in spite of adversity, strives to achieve his full potential and continues to develop into a quality defender.

He’s agile and utilises his physical strength well in an attempt to regain possession. Unafraid of making tackles, he’s more than capable of throwing himself in front of shots and making important blocks in the process. It has a tendency to make you wince from time-to-time, but his relentless energy and attitude in regards to defending is sure to make him plenty of new admirers at the Emirates.

Mustafi won 51 tackles last season in the league alone, almost exactly double the amount Koscielny won, despite the Frenchman playing three more games in comparison. Having played a number of high-pressure fixtures over the past few years, Mustafi’s definitely a quality player deserving a high-profile transfer.

Weaknesses and areas for improvement

In terms of weaknesses, he’s half an inch shorter than Koscielny and although aerial duels are a strength, he shouldn’t be expected to be a saviour in regards to defending set-pieces effectively.

Having played alongside the likes of Otámendi and Jérôme Boateng, he’s continually working on developing both his short and long passing to match their high accuracy – but is not immune to a nervy moment at times and can be caught out of position when challenging for a loose ball.

As mentioned earlier, he makes a lot of successful tackles but isn’t afraid to commit fouls when necessary. In La Liga he’s been booked 21 times over the past two seasons and although the Premier League is heralded as the world’s most physical league, he’ll have to be cautious when performing 50-50 challenges.