Mustafi calls out ‘Irrational’ Arsenal Fans by Dan Smith
Apart from the odd cup tie Mustafi is being paid thousands of pounds a week to sit at home, something the average working person can only dream of. Yet the perception that footballers are only motivated by money may have changed, as the defender did a brave interview, talking of his ‘hurt’ and ‘sadness’ over the ‘irrational’ abuse he’s received from his own supporters, which are supposed to be Arsenal fans.
I’m embarrassed to write that…
We used to reserve such behaviour for the likes of Chelsea or West Ham fans. We were the Arsenal, a family who did things the right way. Arsene Wenger was right to warn us we were in danger of losing our values and principles. While in the minority, social media gives that next generation a chance to share their opinion with the world within seconds with zero reproach. That’s why having forced the German out of the team, they have moved on to Xhaka and then will pick on someone else to be the scapegoat. That is why it’s a brave interview
He’s smart enough to know that some only care that he’s not featuring in the League and won’t care about the human aspect. Some gooners though have messaged their support not realising the mental impact this was having and certainly not knowing how far the trolling was going.
Mustafi is not consistent enough for this level, he can accept that opinion as its football related. As a paying customer you have a right to freedom of speech. Only you know truthfully if you go over the edge, talking to someone like you wouldn’t dare to during the rest of the week because you know they can’t say anything back?
I watched the likes of Pascal Cygan and Igor Stephanovs and banter stopped at telling your mates how clumsy they were. It never dawned on me to find a way to verbally taunt them or their family – but that’s how I have been educated.
What’s worse is some Arsenal fans in the summer were arriving at grounds with the planned notion to boo Mustafi. Others laughed at him for the sake of their own agendas such as subscribers and views. Whisper it quietly, have we been that much better without him? He was on the bench when were humiliated in the Europa League Final. Does David Luiz not just as much leave his foot in? Does Sokratis not make just as many mistakes?
Mustafi is not very good at what he does but that doesn’t mean he deserves to be treated this way. Just like if any of us were not performing very well at our work, our boss couldn’t suddenly shout, swear and ridicule you.
The irony is that the same Arsenal fans who don’t support their own players are the same ones who preach loyalty form the likes of Koscielny.
Dan Smith
Agree entirely but I fear the article won’t do much to stop the haters.
There’s a pretty clear line between criticism and abuse that many are happy to step over when emotional intelligence fails them.
I’m still hopeful he can make an epic comeback and play a role in our bid for champions League football, but I wouldn’t blame him if he wanted to get as far away from these fans as possible.
I believe Mustafi will find those haters at any club. I’m sure he got similar treatment at Valencia, when they faced relegation
There are always people with low EQ, which are the ones that let their emotions get the best of them and have more negative thoughts than the positive ones. We can also see a lot of them on this site, which are mostly found out with their foul mouths
Yup
Totally get what you are saying Dan.But you have to be objective in this as well.I honestly do not believe Mustafi is a bad defender.The issue is he made bad mistakes and too many too often.This cost us points.So it’s only fair to expect supporters to vent anger and abuse.We pay our money and while every player makes the odd mistake there can be no hiding place for an International Defender who continually lets himself down.
But I would say that Zmustafi seems to be the scapegoat this season when both a Luiz and Sokritis have made bad errors yet continually get picked to play.It makes you wonder what Calum Chambers has to do to get recognised.He has looked solid and confident this season yet is deemed inferior to Sokritis when clearly he is not
All down to social media I’m afraid and Just Arsenal is as guilty as anyone, sorry.
You are damn right. Just Arsenal picks some players too and kill them well.
Don’t insult players or manager
If you think they aren’t good enough and should leave that’s fine. Nothing wrong with criticism. But criticism goes to far when you call people “donkeys”, “useless manager”, etc etc.
As for Mustafi. He doesn’t play because he is not good enough or there are better players . So is Ozil and Xhaka in my opinion.
None of these players should start in PL or important matches unless there is a long injury list.
Mustafi is, whether people like it or not, statistically our best defender. As we know stats only tell half the story and its not hard to see that he has errors in his game. However I do feel that the state of our backline has only magnified those errors, and then his own knowledge of his poor form plus the abuse from certain quarters wrecked his confidence.
That said I wouldn’t quite count him out yet, partnering alongside Holding or Chambers combined with his own desire to regain his form could well see him push himself back into contention again. Don’t forget when he first arrived he was a hero in our backline until it all started going wrong, maybe he can get back there in a more balanced squad 🤷♂️
Agree with you, Hatter, Mustafi is playing better at the moment from what I have seen in League Cup and Euro Cup games than he did all last season. Hr does not frsrrve to be ridiculed.
SAgooner, just put Ozils name alongside that of Mustafi and that sums up exactly what Admin is talking about I believe (Sub Eoro cup for premier league).
What makes it worse is, when one asks or challenges these “fans” to produce facts, the abuse is turned on that person!!
Sorry to go OT (but I usually do 😜) Eddie & Joe start for England U21’s..
Most People who send negative, articles towards our players, l wonder if they are genuine Arsenal fans. Now Ozil is being labelled a flop really? Football is a thankless job.
I share you concern Phil concerning the continued selection of Socratis and Luiz who along with Mustafi and Xhaka are considered mediocre by many Arsenal fans.They have every right to feel this way and express their feelings within the realms of common decency but when they overstep the mark on Social Media or at the Emirates they are an embarrassment to our Club and all that it stands for.These players were considered worthwhile when we paid around £90 million in all for them, and yet the men who sanctioned their purchase rarely feel the brunt of the fans wrath despite their costly errors of judgement.
With the likes of Giroud, Iwobi, Xhaka, Mustafi, Sokratis etc it is fair play for some.
They are okay with calling them all sorts of degrading names.
They hypocrisy comes when their favourite players are criticised in a fair constructive manner. That is when you will see them all get emotional, snappy and overly sensitive.
One rule for some and completely different rules for others.
😊
Mustafi may not be a top class defender,but he is still human. The abuses make no sense. Fans who abuse him should be ashamed of themselves. This site has not helped either. If it’s not mustafi,it’s Ozil or Xhaka. They are useless,they are nicking a living bla bla bla. It needs to stop. Its possible to criticise without being abusive. I can imagine if otamendi was an arsenal player….
I am in agreement with you 1000% Some of these over the top criticisms often begin with articles posted on this site. I know the site has to be kept fresh with new articles to improve the google ratings but it should not be done at the expense of players’ dignity. Reasonable criticism is enough. Players are first human beings, brothers, uncles, husbands, boyfriends, sons etc. We should always put ourselves in the shoes of others before we utter words. Irrespective of how much you screw up at work how many of you will be happy to have your boss yell at you in front of 10 others let alone a packed Emirates Stadium?
The treatment of Mustafi has been appalling
Our issues defensively have been much bigger than one player
It’s a shame in some ways Emery hasn’t had the bottle to back him
In my books he gets a lot of credit for sticking around and wanting to prove himself.
Not sure on what we are discussing here, in this season we had clean sheet in all the matches where Mustafi played. He is much improved player now. He deserves another chance.
For the amounts that these players earn they deserve to be criticized for below per performances and they should have the ability to take it. Having said that it is upsetting to see our fans booing one of our own out there. This for me can never be acceptable. These players are first of all human beings and have feelings. Sometime their family members are there to watch them and have to deal with seeing their loved one being booed by his own very fans. Reasonable criticism is within the decency, booing your player is not, no matter how egregious their errors may have been. Most adults, including football players, know when they have messed up and a little reminder or criticism is all they need. We want them to make amends, not destroy their self confidence. The world is a very rough play and all we need is more caring for each other, not destruction of others, knowingly or unknowingly. You may not realize it until you become the subject of same. How many of these booing fans would applaud their bosses for yelling at them after making a mistake at work?