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Martin Keown sends transfer message to Mikel Arteta after Shkodran Mustafi howler


Mustafi was at fault again (Picture: PA)

Shkodran Mustafi had another moment to forget as his criminal error played a huge role in Arsenal falling behind to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

His attempted backpass was scuffed and Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham latched onto it, skipped round Bernd Leno before being pulled down by David Luiz to earn a penalty, with the Brazilian then sent off.

To make matters worse, Jorginho slotted the penalty home in cool fashion, leaving Arsenal a goal and a man down away from home.

It’s far from his first disastrous moment in an Arsenal shirt and he was heavily criticised by Martin Keown, Rio Ferdinand and Joe Cole at half-time, with Keown calling on Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta to buy a new centre-half as soon as possible.

‘We talked about Mustafi before the game. He did an interview recently saying it’s hard work as a central defender, I head it, I kick it and everyone talks about my mistakes and there’s another one there,’ Keown told BT Sport.

‘I sense there’s a fear in this player, you can smell it when he gets the ball, when he defends… in this moment he thinks “I’m going to make a mistake” and he makes it. You’ve got to put everything out of your mind.

‘David Luiz isn’t great there either but I sympathise with David Luiz he’s been put in trouble by Mustafi.

David Luiz was sent off (Picture: Copa/Getty Images)

‘Honestly he’s an accident waiting to happen. He listens far too much to the criticism that is around him.

‘We’ll see how good a manager he [Arteta] is now, he’s got to go into the transfer market to get a top centre-half to come to this football club, quickly.’

Manchester United legend Ferdinand added: ”When’s the last time they bought a good centre-half who’s consistent? [Laurent] Koscielny was the last one and then he finished on bad injuries and lots of inconsistencies. They don’t get that right, for years it’s consistent.

‘I actually feel sorry for Arteta that he has to keep picking Mustafi. I don’t ever see a good performance in him. He makes mistake after mistake, there’s nothing new in his performance that gives me any comfort or I can sit there with any confidence. I feel sorry there’s no one else behind him in the youth team who looks half good enough to get in there and put a solid display on. That’s the killer for me.

Cole continued: ‘I feel for Arteta, you feel he wants to put a team out that’s organised, that playing out in possession but if you’ve got David Luiz and Mustafi playing at centre-half, making mistakes like they do… you can’t win games.

‘This has been going on far too long at Arsenal where they’ve had centre-half after centre-half after centre-half year after year after year, constantly making mistakes. It’s been 10 years.’





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