Arsenal take on Chelsea in the FA Cup final at the end of this month and defender Shkodran Mustafi will not be available for selection for this high-profile game.
The German picked up a hamstring injury during the semi-final match against Manchester City and Mikel Arteta revealed that the central defender will not be fit in time.
‘The rest is true that Musti is injured and we need to assess a little bit how long he is out,’ said Arteta, via Metro.
“I doubt it [he’ll be fit for the final]. I don’t know. We have to see how he evolves in the next few days. At the moment, I doubt it.
‘The best way to prepare the final is to be 100 per cent focused on the next game, get the confidence back, get good momentum, and be physically ready to do that. When you’re not, bad things happen all the time. We better be prepared.’
This is really bad news for Shkodran Mustafi since the defender has been playing some decent football since the resumption of the 2019-20 season.
But we do not think it will be a big issue for the Arsenal manager since he has a number of central defenders at his disposal right now.
Recently, Arteta has been using a three-man backline and there have been times when Kieran Tierney has also played in central defence.
So with Shkodran Mustafi ruled out for the Watford clash and then for the FA Cup final vs Chelsea, Sead Kolasinac should get the opportunity to start in defence which will not be a really bad thing for the Gunners.
