Mustafi grateful for Gunners skipper Per help

Shkodran Mustafi has been a mainstay of the Arsenal defence since joining from Valencia in the summer, but explained that injured team-mate Per Mertesacker has played a key role in his development.

Club captain Mertesacker has not featured at all this season due to injury, with Mustafi and Laurent Koscielny combining at the back for the Gunners.

But Mustafi had the chance to play alongside Mertesacker when he first broke into the German national team, with the pair both part of the squad that won the World Cup in 2014.

And although they were only together for one year before Mertesacker’s retirement, the 24-year-old insists he gained a lot from the experience.

(Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

“Per helped me a lot,” Mustafi said. “When I had just arrived, having a person at the club with so much experience and with the personality he has helped me a lot.

“He helps me on the pitch because when he sees things, he corrected me a few times. He’s not just the type of player who says, ‘You didn’t do that well enough’ or, ‘You have to do it this way’, he tells you why.

“In the short time that I worked with him in the national team, I learned a lot from him.”