Arsenal are a club on the up at the moment; of that, there can be no doubt.
Mikel Arteta and Edu Gaspar have overseen a dramatic turnaround in the Gunners' fortunes, much of which has been due to brilliant signings like Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Martinelli, and mega-money £105m signing Declan Rice.
However, it wasn't that long ago that the club were making regular blunders in the transfer market, and there is perhaps none more glaring than Shkodran Mustafi.
Shkodran Mustafi's career at Arsenal
Arsenal spent £35m to sign Mustafi from La Liga outfit Valencia in August 2016 off the back of two impressive seasons from the then-24-year-old, and it was a move that clearly pleased then manager Arsène Wenger as he said:
"He is at the right age. He has good experience. He is a very focused player who can play with the ball as well. We have taken a great player but have prepared well for the future."
Unfortunately for both player and manager, this description of the Bad Hersfeld-born defender was never seen by the fans in England. Instead, they saw a player who was a consistent concern at the back for the majority of his tenure in north London.
GK – Petr Cech
RB – Hector Bellerin
CB – Shkodran Mustafi
CB – Laurent Koscielny
LB – Nacho Monreal
DM- Francis Coquelin
DM – Santi Cazorla
LM – Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
CAM – Mesut Ozil
RM – Theo Walcott
ST – Lucas Perez
In March 2019, just two and a half years into his time at the Emirates, the German was labelled the "King of the blunders" by former Arsenal and Chelsea midfielder Emmanuel Petit, who had seen enough of his calamitous defending by that point.
The Frenchman wasn't alone in his criticism of the former Valencia man, either. Just a month later, Arsenal legend Martin Keown took aim following a dreadful display against Crystal Palace, proclaiming, "It's schoolboy defending" after a horrific mix-up between defender and goalkeeper.
In all, the German international somehow made 151 appearances for the Gunners across his four and a half years at the club, in which he earned around £90k-per-week, meaning that he cost the club around £56m in total.
While his time as an Arsenal player certainly wasn't as bad as some might make it out, the fact that he was earning the same wage that Leandro Trossard earns now is a testament to how much the club has changed in the last few years.
That said, how did Mustafi get on after leaving Arsenal?
Shkodran Mustafi's post-Arsenal career
The 6-foot centre-back joined Bundesliga outfit Schalke in February 2021 after the Gunners agreed to terminate his contract six months early, with it clear that he had no future in London.
What could, and perhaps should, have been a fresh start for the then-28-year-old titan quickly deteriorated into another nightmare as, in his 13 appearances, the club were relegated for the first time since 1988, and so, rather unsurprisingly, the short-term deal he signed was not renewed.
The next step in his career saw the German return to Valencia, but this time to play for fierce rivals Levante.
Unfortunately, this was another move that went poorly. In his first season with the club, he made just 11 appearances due to injury and faced his second relegation in as many years as the team finished 19th. The following season was just as bad, as injury limited him to just three appearances in total.
After two years with Los Granotas, the 20-capped international was released last summer.
As things stand, he is still without a club, although last month, there were links to Serie A side Salernitana, so he might just be back in action before the end of the season.
Where Are They Now
Your star player or biggest flop has left the club but what are they doing in the present day? This article is part of Football FanCast's Where Are They Now series.
