Why Arsenal should offload Shkodran Mustafi

According to Football.London, former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has instructed Arsenal to oust central defender Shkodran Mustafi during the January transfer window.

Carragher’s comments came after Mustafi’s mediocre performance against Liverpool in the Round of 16 of the Carabao Cup.

Although Mustafi was a part of the starting line-up, the German defender opened the scoring for the Reds by putting the ball into his own net.

Mustafi is yet to make an appearance in the Premier League this season and has fallen behind Sokratis Papastathopoulos and David Luiz in the pecking order.

To make matters worse, William Saliba is yet to join from St. Etienne and once that happens, Mustafi’s role could diminish massively. The 27-year-old has made just five appearances this season, which includes three in the Europa League and two in the Carabao Cup.

The £90,000-a-week star made 31 Premier League appearances last season but failed to make an impression on Emery. The Gunners kept just five clean sheets in those games while the German committed many errors. He made just 116 recoveries in the 2611 Premier League minutes played the last term.

As a result, his performances under the former PSG boss have clearly not been up to the mark. Interestingly enough though, Mustafi did considerably well during Arsene Wenger’s last season as the manager.

The German defender made 27 appearances that season and helped the Gunners maintain nine clean sheets. He conceded 30 goals but also scored three goals as compared to last season’s two.

Mustafi also admitted during the summer transfer window that he is willing to make a move away. And the Gunners should not hold him back any longer.

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Arsenal have Rob Holding in that role while Calum Chambers can also play as a central defender in the hour of need. It looks like there is ample backup in the heart of defence at the Emirates and the north Londoners should put an end to Mustafi’s tenure at the club.