Shkodran Mustafi received a lot of support from Arsenal fans on Twitter after scoring an own goal against Liverpool on Wednesday night.
Believe it or not, that opening paragraph isn’t sarcasm. Arsenal fans have been notorious for the way they’ve turned on Mustafi, consistently tweeting and replying to him with negative comments about his performances.
When the defender then scored an own goal against Liverpool, he must have been fearing the worst about the reaction. He owned up to the mistake on Twitter, and Arsenal supporters were surprisingly understanding about it (mostly).
https://twitter.com/MustafiOfficial/status/1189686244739035143
Seriously unlucky own goal. Head up
— Ivor Cannon (@ivorcannon) October 31, 2019
Overall you were decent
— Nazzy B 🇩🇿 (@NazzyB9) October 30, 2019
Unlucky with the own goal but solid display from you 💪
— A (@nonpareil_afc) October 31, 2019
Do glad you didn’t let that goal stop you from playing well for the rest of the game. So well done & thanks for your tweet ❤️
— sheila (@sheilae03392188) October 30, 2019
Well played my guy, keep the head up
— Gally ™ (@AFCGally) October 31, 2019
Well played my guy, keep the head up
— Gally ™ (@AFCGally) October 31, 2019
You did well bro
— Arsenalian🔮 (@Arsenalian6) October 30, 2019
Perhaps this is partly due to the recent debate over the treatment of Granit Xhaka. Whilst the majority are in agreement that Xhaka didn’t act in a manner befitting of the club’s captain, the incident did raise the issue of the abuse the player has received recently.
Despite his actions, many have actually been left feeling sorry for Xhaka, who clearly just lashed out after an extended build-up of negativity towards him.
Just maybe, the Arsenal fans have become a little more self-aware, and they’ve realised that they have a part to play in lifting players up. We’ll see if it lasts, but this is a positive step.