Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has backed summer signing Shkodran Mustafi to develop into great defender alongside Laurent Koscielny.
The German World Cup winner, a £35millionbuy from Valencia in the final days of the transfer window, has started five games for Arsenal this season and looks to have swiftly settled into life in the Premier League.
Mustafi rose to a challenge that has often been beyond Arsenal defenders last week, taming Diego Costa in a 3-0 victory over Chelsea, drawing particular plaudits for how he had combined with Koscielny to keep the Gunners’ bête noire from even registering a shot on goal.
Whilst Wenger is reluctant to overburden Mustafi with praise little over a month into his Arsenal career the Arsenal manager sees plenty of reason for optimism in the 24-year-old.
Wenger told reporters: “He has the potential [to be a great defender for Arsenal], which is interesting at the moment. It is a bit too early to say, you have to be cautious when a guy has played only three or four games.
“What makes me positive is he is focused, has the desire to do well, and is 24 years old. So for a central defender that is quite young. Let’s see how he survives in games like Sunday against Burnley, where it is a case of ‘Can I head the ball? Can I win the second ball?’ I would say I have a positive feeling.”
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Over the closing months of last season Wenger struggled to identify his strongest partner for Koscielny, breaking up the established pairing of the Frenchman and Per Mertesacker despite Gabriel rarely impressing when given the chance.
Koscielny has been handed the captain’s armband in the absence of Mertesacker, who will be unavailable until early 2017, but Mustafi could well be a second leader in the Arsenal defence.
“Koscielny is the leader because he is captain but Mustafi looks like he is taking leadership as well at the back,” he said. “What is surprising is how quickly he has integrated into the team at the back and how quickly they have formed a pair that works well together.
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“Mustafi is a player who is highly focused. On that front he is a typical German. He wants to do the job well every day and he speaks his mind. He is vocal in the dressing room.
“He is not a quiet guy who hides. He speaks out with his opinion and communicates a lot. Even when you isolate the pictures of the game and look at that he speaks a lot during the game.”
