Arsenal’s Shkodran Mustafi: The Premier League’s Worst Centre-Back?

He cost Arsenal a whopping £35 million a few years ago, and since then, Shkodran Mustafi has been the heart and soul of the Gunners’ defensive frailties, and is the worst first-choice centre-back in the Premier League.

The Gunners have been a sub-par team for a few years now, and that is clear to anyone who watches football. While the Gunners do boast some great goalscorers and midfielders, most of their deficiencies lie at the back-end of the pitch. Bernd Leno has been a fantastic addition, but the continuous reliance on below average centre-backs continues to be the downfall of this Arsenal team. There is no defender in the Premier League that defines ‘below average’ more than Shkodran Mustafi.

The former World Cup winner cost the Gunners a ridiculous £35 million less than 3 years ago, and when you fast-forward to now, it’s questionable whether he is even worth a quarter of that fee. For years in the red and white shirt, Mustafi has been prone to frequent mental lapses and awful mistakes, which have cost Arsenal numerous points across multiple seasons.

Since Mustafi plays for Arsenal, many consider him the worst center-back on a ‘top 6’ team, but if you assess the entire Premier League, you have to consider him the very worst first-choice center-back in the entire division. Look at the sides in the bottom half of the table and the players some of them have at center-back – Sol Bamba, Christopher Schindler, James Tarkowski, Scott Dann, Nathan Ake. They may not have big names, but if you assess their play, they are all better players than Mustafi is. The fact that the German still plays a large role for Arsenal shows the deficiencies in the planning and scouting departments at the club.

On Sunday, with the Gunners chasing a top 4 spot desperately, Mustafi committed 2 heinous errors against Crystal Palace which cost Arsenal the match, and maybe even a Champions League place next year. To make matters worse, Mustafi tried blaming his 2nd error on his goalkeeper Bernd Leno in a cowardly manner, and not for the first time either, clearly portraying his lack of self-awareness and self-criticism.

If Arsenal keep Mustafi in their ranks beyond this season, the club’s ambitions should surely be heavily questioned. The German drags down the entire team, and brings nothing notable to the table. He is comfortably the worst centre-back in the Premier League at the moment, and it’s maddening to think that this player cost £35 million, and that he has a World Cup to his name.

Arsenal’s top 4 hopes hang in the balance with 3 of their last 4 matches coming away from home, where they struggle mightily. The Europa League might be their best hope of getting into the Champions League, as they face Valencia in the semi-finals early next month.