Arsenal fans and Arsene Wenger will be hoping that the prognosis on the injury suffered by the Arsenal and Germany international defender Shkodran Mustafi last night in the final World Cup qualifying match against Azerbaijan will not prove to be too bad.
It looks like it is a muscle problem for the centre back and hopefully the damage will not be too bad and Mustafi will be back before too long, although it could be as long as two months on the sidelines for him. There is no getting around the fact that this is a blow for the Gunners and pretty symptomatic of the sort of bad luck we have been getting on the injury front for years, but I also think that it should not prove too damaging to our season, as long as no more defenders are ruled out in the near future.
Perhaps the timing of this injury to the German could be seen as good luck, because it comes just as we are due to see Laurent Koscielny and Calum Chambers fit again after their own minor fitness issues. And the boss does have decent options in defence.
Nacho Monreal has been fantastic on the left side of a back three lately and we have either Koscielny or Mertesacker to fill the central role, with Chambers and Holding competing for the right side, so even with the Europa League games and the League cup to consider, Wenger can rotate and keep everyone fit. There is also that theory that losing one player can open the door for another and this could prove top be the case for Chambers, who is now likely to feature in Europe and the cup.
How much do you think the Mustafi injury will hurt Arsenal?
Sam P.
I hope Holding can find his form of last season. I have high hopes for him.
It’ll mean more opportunities for Holding, and Chambers, but I hope Wenger finally gives Chambers a decent run of games in his natural position, not RB, or RWB! I like Holding, but Chambers is the better player in my opinion, and we shouldn’t forget that Holding has been pretty awful so far this season, with his distribution causing us all kinds of problems!
I’d go with Chambers in the league for the moment, and Holding in Europe. I am still hopeful they can both eventually become regulars.
While Mustafi is undoubtedly world class we do undoubtedly have very good players to cover. I personally see Chambers and Mustafi as the future England CB pairing. Per and Kos are top top quality players with a wealth of experience. Then there is the tank who can also play there and Nacho is the most passionate player in the squad.
Let’s be honest – defence isn’t our issue. We are strong there. It is Sanchez and Ozil refusing to give 100% that is impacting our attack and defence
Who Said Arsene Can’t Do Grime,
Are you serious mate . Defence isn’t our problem , with LFC we have the most leaky defence off the top 6 clubs . Defence is our issue do you even watch Arsenal play you idiot. Mustafi and Chambers future England pairing . Mustafi is German you fool. You say Mustafi is world class also really he is a decent defender but he is no where near world class . Currently we only have 1 truely world class player at our club and that is Alexis Sanchez and he is leaving. We got guys that maybe WC players one day but they ain’t there yet . Mate I live in Australia and I can see what is happening at our club clearer than you. Wake up seriously.
#KROENKE OUT
Mustafi miss is without of a doubt not good. He and Kos has to be our CB pairs and Nacho..Get Draxler or Lucas Moura for Alexis and it is going to be hard to find a replacement for Ozil right now. Wenger will leave us with a Team not competitive at all when this pair go. No planning , no efforts to get the right players when promised and Europa league will be our main target for years to come.
Remember the days when offering £90m for a player was seen as making an effort to sign someone? Boy, how times have changed.
I have said severally that Ozil is over rated. The havoc he causes for us is greater than the quality he adds to d team.Sell him.
What havoc does he do,
Couse he not defend? or
Couse he cannot defend?
Chambers is absolutely useless and Holding is not in the class of Mustafi, although he may develop in a couple of years.
So loosing Mustafi is a problem, but if Mertesacker, Kos and Monreal can stay fit, we might just manage without him.
Talking is cheap. There is no useless person in this world as AndersS says. But Arsenal will proceed with or without Mustafi. Good defenders left Arsenal, but the shore goes on.
Ozil is overrated like David Becham