Jamie Carragher slams Arsenal defender Shkodran Mustafi and claims he is not Premier League standard.
Arsenal endured a terrible time defensively at Anfield yet again in last nights Carabao Cup.
Unai Emery’s men were dumped out of the competition by a Liverpool side that could easily be considered a U21 side, and no other position was the spotlight on more than the Arsenal defence.
Arsenal conceded five goals despite scoring the same amount, but the floodgates were opened by Mustafi’s own goal.
The German diverted an Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain cross into the net to hand Liverpool the lead and the tone of the game was set from then on.
That wasn’t the first own goal of Mustafi’s Arsenal career and neither has he had many error-free games. Carragher now believes the Gunners should cut their losses and get rid of the German.
According to the former Liverpool star, Mustafi is not up to the required standard to play in the Premier League and he is the sort of player that forces his teammates to make mistakes around him.
Mustafi not good enough for Premier League.
“I think those days are gone, Mustafi playing in the Premier League,” Carragher told Sky Sports.
“I don’t think how well he played here tonight would change that.
“He’s just one of those defenders who makes mistakes and it affects other people.
“When you play with someone like that it makes you nervous.
“Your goalkeeper, your full-backs… you can’t play your own game because you’re always worried he’s going to make a mistake and are half-covering him.
“I think probably for Arsenal the quicker he’s gone the better for everyone.”
Mustafi joined the Gunners for £35m from Valencia in 2016 but has never been good enough to be considered a top-class Premier League defender.
He has fallen further down the pecking order this season after the arrival of David Luiz. The performance against Liverpool has probably ruined any chance of a first-team comeback.