Arsenal recorded back to back victories for the first time under Mikel Arteta against Everton, as his visible marginal gains came to fruition via tangible results. One player in particular who has appeared to have taken his game to another level under the Spaniard, at least briefly, is Shkodran Mustafi. Still, former Gunners defender Lee Dixon is sceptical. The four-time Premier League winning left back had some harsh words for the German defender and did not hold back his searing criticism, despite the improvement.
What did he say?
Speaking to The Handbrake Off podcast, Dixon said: “He seriously needs to have a word with himself and pipe down a little bit. Bang me 25 appearances out and 15 clean sheets then he can do what he likes with his hair and sunglasses.”
The former Gunners defender, turned pundit added the advice: “Just sit back down for a bit and carry on churning the results out.”
Mustafi answering his critics
Mustafi rated £13.5m (Transfermarkt), has previously revealed that he is “haunted” by the criticism of another former Arsenal player and legend in north London, Emmanuel Petit. After a performance against Liverpool where the Gunners were defeated 5-1, the Frenchman described the centre back as the “king of blunders”, and the player revealed it hurt him a lot. The German World Cup winner admitted in the past that criticism had hampered his performances on the pitch. Still, since Arteta took charge, he appears to have regained confidence in his abilities.
Ironically given all of the disparagement Mustafi has faced from the media, the 27-year-old is Arsenal’s second highest-rated player this season, as per WhoScored, based on his average match rating, 7.13, from eight Premier League appearances. In his last six matches across the top-flight and Europa League – all since Arteta took charge – the German has recorded a match rating of seven or higher, displaying remarkable consistency. Furthermore, as per WhoScored, only Ainsley Maitland-Niles has recorded a higher average of interceptions per game, 1.8, than Mustafi’s 1.6, while no player as made more clearances per match than the 27-year-old’s 6.1. It appears the centre back has finally turned a corner under his new manager and rediscovered the consistency which initially attracted Arsenal to bring him to the Emirates Stadium.
