Shkodran Mustafi: Why I Thought I’d Won The Game Against Chelsea

By The Editor
on 18th September 2017

Shkodran Mustafi celebrated wildly before seeing the flag…

Arsenal defender Shkodran Mustafi admits that he too thought he’d given us all three points at Chelsea before seeing the linesman with his flag aloft.

Mustafi stole a march on the Chelsea backline as Granit Xhaka lifted a cross into the box, and the German defender nodded the ball past Thibaut Courtois.

However, the 25-year-old was at least a yard offside, and he claimed that Arsenal teammate Sead Kolasinac confused him in such a crowded area.

Mustafi timed his run with the thinking that the figure behind him was a Chelsea defender, only to realise that it was Kolasinac who was also looking to thump the ball past the Belgian giant.

“I saw someone behind me so I thought ‘I’m not offside’,” Mustafi explained to Arsenal Player.

“I knew that I started a bit early because I know as a defender, it’s a bit hard to stay in one line.

“So I thought if I start a split-second early I might get this advantage – and I got it. Unfortunately, the man I saw behind me was Sead Kolasinac.”

Mustafi produced a very assured display against Chelsea, the type of performance we saw from him during the first part of last season.

He’s been lacking confidence in recent months, but it seems his rash defensive style may actually suit the back three we now deploy.