Shkodran Mustafi became one of the most expensive players in Arsenal’s history when he signed from Valencia for a reported fee of £35m in the summer.
It was the same amount Arsene Wenger paid to sign Alexis Sanchez two summers ago, making Mustafi’s the joint-second biggest deal the club have ever agreed.
With the Premier League spending well over a billion pounds throughout the transfer window, it was a fee that barely registered on the radar. Indeed, Manchester United also agreed to pay £89m for Paul Pogba while Eric Bailly, with under 60 professional appearances, cost them £30m.
It is clear transfer fees have gone through the roof since the £5.5bn TV deal became active and will continue to rise as long as the Premier League’s global appeal rises.
But Mustafa is clearly uncomfortable thinking about the amount of money that was exchanged for his services. A man from humble beginnings in the Republic of Macedonia admits he is trying to push the thought of it to the back of his mind.
He told German newspaper Bild: “I wanted Arsenal, everything else I left to be negotiated between the clubs. Of course, this is an incredible sum (41 million euros).
“And I know what a burden that can bring. Some people live on 200 to 300 euros per month. Especially in my second home in Gostivar (Republic of Macedonia). But I could not influence this. So I push it far away out of my head.”
MUSTAFI’S STATS
Appearances – 4
Minutes Played – 360
Goals Conceded – 2
Clean Sheets – 2
Pass Accuracy – 87.3%
Tackles Made – 15
Duels Won – 29
Clearances – 26
Fouls Made – 6
While £35m is unquestionably a huge amount of money to exchange for a single person, in terms of transfer fees Mustafi appears to be an astute acquisition. The stats above suggest he is already settled to life in the Premier League and, at just 24, there is no telling how far he could go.
Although early days, Wenger went as far to say that Mustafi could become a “great” defender for the club, to the point his £35m fee is seen as a bargain.
Wenger told reporters: “He has the potential [to be a great defender for Arsenal], which is interesting at the moment. It is a bit too early to say, you have to be cautious when a guy has played only three or four games.
“What makes me positive is he is focused, has the desire to do well, and is 24 years old. So for a central defender that is quite young. Let’s see how he survives in games like Sunday against Burnley, where it is a case of ‘Can I head the ball? Can I win the second ball?’ I would say I have a positive feeling.”
As we now know, he helped Arsenal keep a clean sheet in that game against Burnley with another fine performance.