Former Premier League defenders Carragher and Keown rip into Arsenal man

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Former Premier League defenders Jamie Carragher and Martin Keown have ripped into Arsenal’s Shkodran Mustafi after another horrible display for the Gunners.

The Germany international was at fault for two goals against Crystal Palace on Sunday, with the visitors running out 3-2 winners at the Emirates Stadium.

The game was a golden chance for Unai Emery’s side to boost their top four hopes, with Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United both losing.

But Mustafi’s errors gave Arsenal little hope, and the World Cup winner was lambasted by fans after the game.

Former Gunner Keown said on Match of the Day 2 (quoted by football.london): “If the ball is delivered into the box, it’s a tap in. Mustafi has completely switched off. He sees him and puts the burners on but Benteke just steps inside of him. It’s schoolboy defending.”

Speaking on Monday Night Football, Carragher added (quoted by The Mirror): “I wasn’t surprised by this [Mustafi] – he’s been a mess since he joined the club really and this is another example of it. He’s at fault for the second goal as well.”

TBR’s view

Keown and Carragher’s assessments carry a lot of weight having been two fine Premier League defenders themselves.

Mustafi has had another poor game and Emery simply has to move him on in the summer.

The £35 million signing from Valencia (BBC Sport) has lapses far too often and he might well end up costing the Gunners Champions League qualification for next season.

The club will almost certainly have to take a hit to sell him, but it would be the right decision as Mustafi has done little to shake off the ‘liability’ tag.