Shkodran Mustafi 'not close' to leaving Arsenal this summer, insists Arsene Wenger

Arsene Wenger says Shkodran Mustafi was “not close” to leaving Arsenal in the summer, and that the German centre-half can grow into a club leader and successor to Per Mertesacker, after scoring the opening goal in his side’s 2-0 derby win over Tottenham Hotspur in what was a supreme individual display.

There had been speculation over whether Mustafi would leave in the summer amid interest from Inter, but that did not happen.

Asked how close the 25-year-old was to departing, Wenger said “not close”, before praising his importance to the future.

“First of all, he’s similar to Per on a mental front, but of course he’s 10 years younger, and he’s a leader, he’s a motivator,” Wenger said. “He has a strong focus, and he’s strong in the challenge. I agree with you that he had an outstanding performance today. In the air he was good. He started a bit nervy and slowly became stronger and stronger.”

Wenger spoke of how he needs such leaders in defence, due to their unique position.

“Of course, because they have a picture of the whole team in front of them. Sometimes one word, ‘go a bit more wide, go a bit more left, drop off’ makes a complete difference. Because you have, it’s like a photo of a team, when you play at the back, your keeper and the centre-backs, and they know exactly… they can predict when they will be in trouble.

“I think he’s a winner. You know people, to get into the head of football people, they think just because the contract situation is not always what they hoped, they walk on the football pitch there and they think OK, it doesn’t matter. it’s not like that.

“When you’re a football player, even if I play four against four out there, you want to win. And you don’t know what is your contract. These guys are winners. They want to win the football games. When they lose, they are accused of not wanting it enough. That’s part of the job, but they want to win.”