It’s done. Arsenal have finally bagged themselves an established defender this summer after unveiling £35million Shkodran Mustafi as a Gunner.
Arsene Wenger has ended his summer-long search for a player capable of filling a defensive gap with experience following the lengthy injuries to Gabriel and Per Mertesacker.
But despite the non-stop reports linking Arsenal with the German international, many of you might still be wondering who the heck the 24-year-old is.
Well, we’ve made it pretty easy to get the lowdown on Wenger’s latest signing, who is expected to link up with his new teammates during the trip to Watford this weekend.
1 – Age Is Just A Number
Arsene Wenger clearly stated he was looking for an experienced candidate to slot into the Arsenal defence, and at 24 years of age many questioned why he chose Mustafi.
The reality is, at such a young age the defender is already a World Cup winner, having been a part of the 2014 Germany squad that stormed the tournament in Brasil.
Despite originally being left out of the 30-man selection, at 20 years old Mustafi was drafted in at the last-minute to replace the injured Marco Reus.
A strange selection considering Reus’ attacking abilities, but at such a tender age Mustafi thought nothing of it and prepared himself to pick up as much of the experience as possible.
Much to his surprise, Joachim Low was a big fan of his agility, and whilst coupled with his desire to burst onto the scene he was subsequently used as a substitute in their opening two games.
After impressing for his nation, Mustafi went on to start at right-back during their knockout stage match but pulled up two-thirds into the game and ended up missing the rest of the tournament.
As many of you will know, Mustafi has since gone on to become a regular in the starting XI and seen as Mertesacker’s replacement he went on to make a number of appearances at this summer’s Euro’s.
He bagged the opening goal for the German’s during a 2-0 win over Ukraine, and is now recognised as a capable centre back at the highest level, so watch out for his name at Russia 2018.