Saturday’s man of the match Shkodran Mustafi has staunchly defended Arsenal’s character by launching an angry attack on critics following the Gunners’ 2-0 win over rivals Tottenham at the Emirates.
The World-Cup winner bagged the first goal with a clean header following a Mesut-Ozil cross from a free-kick on the left side and produced one of the season’s most memorable performances on the night.
And now he has fired back at critics who think that Arsenal is ‘dead’ and incapable of competing for the title.
“You like to get the s***, the biggest s***.” he said angrily. “What happens in the changing room is the real thing.
“I have been talking to clubs or if I haven’t, it’s only rumours. I’m here, I’m standing in front of you in an Arsenal shirt.”
Mustafi was linked with an Emirates exit in the summer, with Inter Milan being the main contender for his signature.
“That’s you guys thinking it. As always, Arsenal is dead. Arsenal is not coming back. We always are alive, we always believe in ourselves but we all know that if you win big games but lose the small games you’re not going to finish top of the league or even in the top four.
“If you win today and lose next weekend you are back where you were.”
Mustafi has also responded in a similarly blunt manner to rumours linking the club’s stars, Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez, with a move away this January.
He said: “You want everyone to leave, don’t you? We need the players, not everyone can leave. Obviously they are important and everyone in the team wants them to stay.
“If you look at what Mesut achieved, you have to give him credit and respect. It’s sometimes stupid to just go out and say ‘he’s not good enough, he’s not this and that’”
Mustafi recently returned from a hamstring injury he sustained in early October on international duty with Germany. The injury saw him miss eight games for the Gunners.
