Arsenal were more than ready to offload Shkodran Mustafi during the summer transfer window especially after the club managed to bring in David Luiz from Chelsea.
Mustafi joined the Gunners in 2016 from Valencia for a fee of around €41 million but and last season, he managed to play in 31 Premier League matches.
But Unai Emery made it clear that he wanted the centre-back out of the club and he even went public with this statement.
A number of clubs were linked with the defender and at one point it was almost obvious that Shkodran Mustafi was going to move out of the club.
Unfortunately, though the club failed to find a buyer which means the player will remain at the club for the 2019-20 season.
And speaking about the future of Mustafi, Unai Emery has revealed that the 27-year-old still has a future at the club.
“Mustafi decided to be here and when he did, for me, he is another player like the others in the team,” Emery said.
“Of course I respect his decision and, when he decided, I spoke with him and said ‘for me, you are in the squad and I am going to work with you as with the other players’.
“I don’t know all exactly what was in his decision (to stay) but, when we spoke and he decided to be here, it was a start with him as another player in the squad.”
VERDICT:
Arsenal will play in the Europa League this season and surely Unai Emery could use him sparingly during those tough away games.
But clearly the manager will try to offload Shkodran Mustafi once again during the January transfer window even if that means letting him move out on loan for a six-month spell.
