What’s the story
Speaking to Goal.com, Arsenal’s summer signing Shkodran Mustafi revealed that former Manchester United star Rio Ferdinand is his defensive idol and that he aspires to become a player of his ability. Mustafi was all praises for the English defender and believed he had all that was needed to become a world-class defender.
“He(Ferdinand) was always there, screaming, tackling playing. He had everything a defender needed."
The player also revealed his admiration for French star and current Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane and Brazilian player Ronaldinho and added that it was a pleasure watching them play.
“I loved watching Zidane. I loved watching Ronaldinho and when I became a defender I loved Ferdinand," Mustafi said.
In case you didn’t know...
The 24-year-old German joined Arsenal in the summer of 2016 and has proven to be a stellar signing. The defender had garnered a lot of admirers while he was at Valencia but it was the North London club who managed to get hold of him for a fee rumoured to be around £35million.
The signing has turned out to be massive for the Gunners as they have a solid centre-back pairing after quite some time. Both Mustafi and Koscielny have turned out to be defensively resilient and they have helped Arsenal in putting on some solid defensive displays throughout the season till now.
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Mustafi has also not lost a single game as an Arsenal player yet having played 20 games for them and conceding only 19 goals in them.
The heart of the matter
Shkodran Mustafi has been a superb signing for the Gunners and the team has been impeccable defensively with him and Frenchman Koscielny at the back. The German poses a strong physical presence and has a knack of making some brilliant tackles.
He has also been great at intercepting the ball and passing it forward which has helped the Gunners style of football as well. Mustafi’s aerial presence also means that Arsenal are a continual threat from set pieces as well.
His attributes are similar to Rio Ferdinand and this may be a big reason why the player idolises the Englishman.
What next?
Mustafi who has been a success at Arsenal till now will hope that his superb form continues with the Gunners. Arsenal fans will also be hopeful that the player indeed turns out to be like Rio Ferdinand who spent most of his prime at Manchester United and was a part of some of their best teams.
Sportskeeda’s take
It feels great to see Mustafi’s admiration for a player like Ferdinand who had been an absolute rock at the back for Manchester United. Ferdinand is arguably one of the best defenders to have played in the Premier League and will be quite happy to see that he has been a role model for another solid defender.
Mustafi would surely want his unbeaten run with Arsenal to continue and we hope for the Gunners fans that it does.
