In a mini roundup of news involving ex-Arsenal players, Shkodran Mustafi is set for another surgery while Carlos Vela is still refusing to play for Mexico despite this being his last chance to play at a World Cup.

Shokdran Mustafi

Former Arsenal calamity, Shkodran Mustafi, is set to undergo surgery for the second time in just 11 months.

Since leaving Arsenal, Mustafi has not had the best time.

After his contract was cancelled, Mustafi led a revolt against the manager at Schalke where he won only two games, got relegated and was then voted Relegated Player of the Season – in other words, the worst player, despite only arriving in the middle of the season.

When the summer rolled around, he was released by Schalke and it took him a while to find a club willing to pay the money he wanted, eventually finding has a new home at Levante at the start of September last year.

Last December, Mustafi then had to undergo surgery for a grade III strain to his knee that kept him out of action for three months.

Not long after his recovery from that injury, Mustafi was at home when he was the victim of a burglary by three men who stole around €1m-worth of items.

Now, he will undergo another operation to try and sort a problem with his quad that has dogged him all season. Surgery will take place in Munich by Dr. Peret Bruker and will be coordinated by the head of the Granota team’s Medical Services, Dr. Miguel Ángel Buil.

He will be out of action for around three months.

Reports that Mustafi is blaming Leno for his problems could not be confirmed.

Mustafi, 30, is currently valued at £1.8m and has played just 1,767 minutes since leaving Arsenal at the end of January.

That equates to just under 20 full matches.

Carlos Vela

Carlos Vela is still refusing to play for Mexico and will not join up with his country ahead of the World Cup in Qatar.

Vela hasn’t played for Mexico since 2018 and he has absolutely no intention of changing his mind despite the national team reaching out to him once again. When he withdrew from national team action years ago, he claimed he was leaving a space for younger players but it has also been alleged that he had problems in the dressing room, too.

Not only will Vela not play for Mexico, he believes that his refusal does not need to be justified, saying “I don’t have to say anything to anyone”.

Unlike Mustafi, Vela’s career has gone well since he left Arsenal, a club he admits he joined when he wasn’t ready.

A few years back, former Arsenal scout Francis Cagigao reinforced that when he told The Athletic that Vela had “100 per cent of the talent, 0 per cent of the attitude”, something it seems the player himself would agree with.

Vela is now 33 and playing in the MLS for LAFC where he has scored 79 goals, with 42 assists, in just 138 games.

He was named the MLS’s Most Valuable Player at the end of 18/19 season when he scored 34 goals, with 10 assists, in just 31 league games.

Vela has, you could say, found himself and his level.