Arsenal defender Shkodran Mustafi says that Arteta arrival has united the whole squad including the likes of Mesut Ozil. He also added that every player benefited from his arrival.
The Gunners had a dreadful start to the Premier League campaign under Unai Emery. The Spanish manager was sacked mid-season and was replaced by Mikel Arteta. Since Arteta’s arrival, Arsenal have bounced back and are looking good. The Gunners have lost just one of their last 13 matches in all competitions before the league was suspended due to coronavirus outbreak.
The German defender believes that the squad is improving massively under Arteta and that a bright future awaits for Arsenal. The German defender told Sky Sports about Arteta:
“He’s a little like a professor. He knows exactly where he wants the players to be when on the ball and how to react when losing the ball. It’s very special.
“When I pass I am usually only focused on where to be if we lose the ball but he wants me to contribute offensively too. So we constantly need to make an option for the player on the ball.
“When you are 28 and you play in different countries with other coaches you think you know everything but then he came in and there are things I’ve never known before.”
When asked about Mesut Ozil, Mustafi says the former Arsenal man has united the squad including Mesut.
He added, “Sometimes we don’t realise what a difficult job it is.
“From 25 players maybe 20 agree with the coach and five still think we should play different.
“Since Mikel has come in he has 25 players on board and this is not easy to achieve.
“Everyone understands and everything he says makes sense. There is nothing we can complain about. Everyone has benefited, even Mesut.”
Mikel Arteta tested positive for Coronavirus in March which eventually led to the suspension of the Premier League. When asked about it, Mustafi said:
“It was a shock. In the beginning, no one knew much about it.
“You don’t want him to be in bad health but after all this happened we were in contact over Zoom.”
Shkodran Mustafi has been great for the past few months. He committed an error at Stamford Bridge but very few expected him to bounce back. He has certainly redeemed himself in some way under Arteta.
