To be fair to the World Cup winning former international teammate of Shkodran Mustafi, who is fit again after tweaking his hamstring in the final game of the last international break, Per Mertesacker has done well in the absence of his defensive colleague.
Our BFG did not play in the Carabao Cup game against Norwich City on Tuesday either, so it seems clear that Arsene Wenger was keeping the aging centre back fresh in case we needed him for the visit of Swansea City in the Premier League this weekend.
With Sky Sports reporting that Mustafi is back in full training and available to the boss, however, I expect Mertesacker to drop back to the bench. This is not necessarily about form but more about the way the game is likely to play out, with Arsenal dominating and the Swans defending deep as they did recently when taking a hard earned point off Tottenham recently.
The last thing you want in that situation is the big German’s lack of pace up against a quick counter attack, so just for the extra speed in his legs if nothing else, do you want Wenger to bring Mustafi straight back into the Arsenal team?
Bob.