Shkodran Mustafi has departed Arsenal to join Bundesliga’s Schalke in a permanent transfer after four-and-a-half years at the Emirates Stadium.
Mustafi joined the Gunners in August 2016 from Valencia and went on to score nine goals in 151 appearances in all competitions, before completing his move to Schalke for an undisclosed fee on a short-term contract.
Arsenal’s Technical Director, Edu has paid tribute to the German for his contribution over the last four-and-a-half years, saying: “We thank Musti for his contribution at Arsenal which has spanned four-and-a-half years, more than 150 appearances and a prominent role in two FA Cup wins.”
Gunners boss, Mikel Arteta also commented on Mustafi’s exit, describing the defender as a ‘key player’ for the club who played a vital role in his first season as manager and thanked the German for showing ‘professionalism’ and his readiness when called upon in matches.
Both Edu and Arteta alongside rest of the Arsenal team and fans thank Mustafi for his effort and wish him well for his ‘next chapter’ at Schalke.
Mustafi will replace Ozan Kabak who has signed a loan deal to join Arsenal’s Premier League rivals – Liverpool, with Schalke’s Head of Sport and Communication – Jochen Schneider describing Kabak’s move as one that ‘… makes a lot of sense financially, especially due to the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic’.
Kabak’s move to Anfield comes following the announcement from Liverpool that Joel Matip is set to miss the rest of 2020-21 season with serious ankle ligament damage suffered in Thursday’s Premier League win at Tottenham.
Schneider also commented that the club has signed what he described as ‘a very good centre-back’ in Mustafi, who will fill the void that Kabak will leave in Schalke’s defence as the club fight for survival in Bundesliga after finding themselves in 18th position after just one league win in 19 matches this season.
Schalke consequently are nine points from safety and staring at relegation to the second tier of German Football for the first time since winning promotion back into the top flight in 1991.
Leave a Reply