Premier League 2018/19: The underperforming team of the season

Centre-Back: Shkodran Mustafi

Shkodran Mustafi has been guilty of some big mistakes in 2018/19

Arsenal have had an inconsistent season for the most part – looking brilliant at times but massively vulnerable at others – and it’s their back line that has come under fire the most. It should come as no surprise then that the defender who’s made the most appearances for the Gunners this season – Shkodran Mustafi, who’s played 30 of Arsenal’s league games – makes his way into this underperforming side.

Quite how Arsenal ever paid £35m for Mustafi in 2016 has been baffling Gunners fans all season as they’ve seen him make a shocking amount of errors this season, some of which have cost his side important points.

He’s rarely looked comfortable and mistakes such as his foul on Harry Kane – which allowed Tottenham to escape their game with Arsenal in March with a point – and his errors against Crystal Palace in April, which clearly cost Arsenal the game, were essentially unforgivable.

After that disastrous game against Palace, boss Unai Emery came out to defend Mustafi – stating that he’d played “consistently” throughout the season – but for many fans, that “consistency” meant consistent underperformance. It’d be a surprise to see him starting for the Gunners next season.

Centre-Back: Yerry Mina – Everton

Yerry Mina has failed to make a mark in Everton's defence

Colombian centre-back Yerry Mina had a fantastic World Cup last summer, surprisingly popping up to score 3 goals, and there was probably a fair argument to be made that he was his country’s best player during the tournament.

When it was reported that he’d be leaving Barcelona, plenty of big clubs were linked with his signature – so it came as a surprise when it was Everton who signed him in a deal worth around €30m.

Mina was supposed to shore up a back-line which had looked decidedly dodgy throughout 2017/18, but unfortunately, that hasn’t been the case at all. Due to injuries, it took him until November to make his Premier League debut and since then he’s barely played at all – starting just 9 games as he’s failed to make an impression at Goodison while his fellow defenders Michael Keane and Kurt Zouma have been fantastic.

It’d be unfair to blame Mina for failing to dislodge either man given their form, but when he has played, the Colombian hasn’t looked up to scratch anyway, as he looked miles off the pace in the Toffees’ games with the likes of Brighton, Liverpool and Newcastle. Given the money that Everton paid for him, it’s hard to look at him as anything but a bust.

Right-Back: Kieran Trippier – Tottenham

After an excellent World Cup, Kieran Trippier has struggled this season

Few players came out of the 2018 World Cup with their reputations enhanced more than Tottenham’s right-back Kieran Trippier. Not only did he score England’s goal in their semi-final defeat to Croatia with a beautiful free-kick, but his delivery – be it from crosses or dead-balls – was fantastic throughout the tournament, as was his defensive work.

Trippier started 2018/19 brightly for Tottenham, too – firing in a fantastic free-kick against Fulham in the second game of the season – but since then his form has seemingly fallen off a cliff, and in all honesty it’s hard to work out quite what’s gone wrong for him.

At times it seems like he’s forgotten his defensive duties entirely – the likes of Bernardo Silva and Eden Hazard have ran him ragged – but it’s not just his defensive work that’s suffered.

Not only has Trippier made 2 fewer assists than he did in 2017/18, but he’s also been dispossessed more, has been more unsuccessful in his dribbles, has committed more fouls, and scored a disastrous own goal against Chelsea in February. Hopefully – for Spurs and England fans – this is just a blip for him, but he’s definitely underperformed in 2018/19.