World Champion Shkodran Mustafi: "I have become a target"

The man mocked and maligned in England sits in a kebab restaurant in the north of London in the far corner and smiles. There are diet soda cans and ice cubes in the glass for self-service. Here near the underground station "Golders Green" Shkodran Mustafi likes to eat with his teammate Mesut Özil. Özil and Sead Kolasinac fled here after escaping a robbery in late July. Mustafi, defender of Arsenal, feels safe in this place.

The 27-year-old is the most expensive German central defender. Arsenal paid 40 million euros for him in 2016. Mustafi became world champion with Germany in 2014, in the final against Argentina. But for nine months, he has become the attraction among the Londoners. And if the DFB on Wednesday against Argentina (20.45 clock RTL / Livestream SPIEGEL) starts, Mustafi is no longer an option for the national coach.

After mistakes in the past season, the frustration of many Arsenal followers on Twitter and Instagram, so that Mustafi locked at some point the comment function. In the summer, Arsenal coach Unai Emery announced that Mustafi should leave the club. But he stayed.

Now the defender speaks for the first time about the criticism and about the handling of emotions as the hardest in football.

SPIEGEL: Mr. Mustafi, are you the second worst defender in the world?

Mustafi: No, I do not think so.

SPIEGEL: The Spanish sports newspaper "Marca" has recently selected the worst players of the year from their users. With 150,000 votes, you came in second behind Phil Jones of Manchester United.

Mustafi: I would think if that would have been a poll among the best coaches in Europe.

SPIEGEL: The poll shows how much your reputation as a defender suffered. What happened in the past months?

Mustafi: In the first two years after my move to Arsenal in 2016, things went very well for me. I saw myself as a performer. But shortly after Christmas 2018 there was a kink. I've made a few mistakes and they've created a mess that I've never experienced before.

SPIEGEL: You mean the 1: 5 in Liverpool at the end of December 2018?

Mustafi: I had missed three weeks in injury and then went into the game without training with the team because the coach needed me. At halftime it was 1: 4, I looked a few times not good and have injured myself again. Afterwards, I got a lot of negative comments from Arsenal fans on Instagram and Twitter. And articles were written in which I was harshly criticized.

AP

In December 2018 Shkodran Mustafi lost with Arsenal at Liverpool 1: 5. Afterwards, the criticism of the defender discharged.

SPIEGEL: A penalty you caused, a failed defensive action, which caused a 2: 3 defeat to Crystal Palace - and there were more mistakes. On Twitter somebody wrote, They played like on roller skates. On an arsenal fan station supporters demanded that the club should sell them.

Mustafi: I'm self-critical enough to realize that I made those mistakes. I can also deal with tough criticism. But the criticism has become escalated and irrational. I have become a target. At some point, people even blamed me for a defeat I had not played at all.

SPIEGEL: An article appeared in the tabloid newspaper "The Sun" in mid-August. A fan had photographed you in their car in front of the Arsenal Stadium, and written on Twitter that you would have blocked the way to the pub with their Ferrari the Arsenal followers. Headline of the article: "Blockdran Mustafi".

Actual Mustafi has blocked the bus lane and is stopping me from getting to the pub. This is the final straw. pic.twitter.com/83moIbfGxC

Mustafi: That was the culmination of the madness. I was not in the squad but wanted to see the game. On the way to the stadium, I stopped briefly and asked a folder, if I could drive through. He said: Wait a minute, and then let me through. That's exactly where the photo must have come from. But of course I have not blocked anyone's way to the pub.

SPIEGEL: But there was also criticism of you from the football industry. Former Arsenal player and 1998 French World Champion Emmanuel Petit called you the "king of the fags".

Mustafi: That annoyed me a lot. It's the one thing when fans or media criticize you. But it's a different story when an ex-player who knows how hard it sometimes is in the field says so. I expect such players to be more sensitive and realize what this sharply worded critique can trigger. In the past, that might have been one day in the paper and then people would have forgotten it. Today it's on the internet and will haunt me for the rest of my career. Actually, former players like Petit should not have to make a name for themselves by making condescending comments about current players.

SPIEGEL: There is a Youtube video, a fan-produced compilation of their mistakes at Arsenal. His name is Mustafi must leave. The video was clicked 1.8 million times. Did you see it?

Mustafi: No. I also had to protect myself.

SPIEGEL: How did you handle this?

Mustafi: There were days when I really doubted something about myself. But at some point I realized that I am mentally strong. Something my wife said helped me a lot: "If you were really as bad as people are making you, you would never have been a World Champion and Arsenal player, something must have brought you here." Since then I can handle it better.

DPA

After returning from Brazil celebrated Skhodran Mustafi (2nd from left) in July 2014 winning the world title with the German national team at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin

SPIEGEL: You became world champion in 2014 after you were re-nominated for Marco Reus shortly before the tournament. After that, you said, "The hardest part of our job is dealing with emotions." Can you do it today?

Mustafi: It remains the most important thing in football. When you're up, you have to be careful not to fly away. So you can not really enjoy yourself. When you are down, you must be careful not to go crazy. I have experienced both.

SPIEGEL: As a professional, is it better to not allow any emotions?

Mustafi: No. You have to learn to use the emotions properly. When I was flying high I used the positive emotions to improve myself. They inspire me. And now that I'm down, the negative emotions should also motivate me. I said to myself: I do not want to sit in the cabin again and feel guilty about my colleagues. That drives me too.

SPIEGEL: How do you, as a professional, learn how to handle your emotions? Did you get psychological help?

Mustafi: No. I felt like I could get through this myself. For me, it would have been red alert if all this had ruined me so much that I no longer wanted to play. If I could not have laughed in training. But that was not so. I continued to have friends in my job. And my family helped me.

Been saying all season mustafi plays in rollerblades. #Arsenal #ArsenalInDubai #Mustafi pic.twitter.com/rapSlaO63b

SPIEGEL: Are players perceived differently today than they used to be?

Mustafi: Football has become more inhumane. Social media has also contributed to this, because anyone can comment, without plain names. People can unload their frustration directly from us.

SPIEGEL: As a player, you also benefit greatly from social media. They can stage themselves and their advertising partners there. They can become more of a brand.

Mustafi: That's right. Nevertheless, I believe that there is a limit. If it is no longer about the sport, but only to discredit someone to get even many Likes, then it is exceeded. I would like to see more restrictions in the future. What's on the internet will never disappear. And I'm worried that this will eventually affect my children.

SPIEGEL: Insults from fans, statements by your coach Unai Emery in the summer, that you should leave the club. And yet you are still an Arsenal player. Why?

Mustafi: In the summer there were considerations to change the club. But there was no option that would have satisfied all sides. Also Arsenal has made a possible departure, of course, in spite of the statements of some conditions. And I knew: the next change is extremely important to make another positive chapter in my career. If I change somewhere where it does not really fit, the situation could not improve much. So I stayed. I am open for the future - also for the Bundesliga.

SPIEGEL: The German national team will face Argentina in a friendly on Wednesday. They were only invited once after the 2017 Confed Cup. How does this happen? The coach calls Joachim Loew and explains why he does not rely on you?

Mustafi: Before the 2018 World Cup, there was a call. The coach told me that I'm not there. But that was already clear to me, because I was not invited before. I also do not take it for granted that you invite me. A detailed conversation did not exist after that.

SPIEGEL: Would you have wished that?

Mustafi: I think it's good to be told what to improve. First of all, I have to come back to work on Arsenal. In the Europa League and the League Cup, I last played through, and we have won to zero. For me, this is a ray of hope that things are going up again.