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Well, here’s a bit of a sour note in what has otherwise been a pretty sweet day of soccer for Arsenal. Center back Shkodran Mustafi is apparently going to be out for at least three weeks with injury, per Arseblog. He picked up a hamstring injury about midway through the first half of today’s win over Stoke City.
“The minimum for that kind of injury is 21 days. That means he will have a nice Christmas,” Wenger said.
This is a tough blow for the Gunners, as Mustafi has been great since he came to Arsenal, adding a nice boost to the performance of the backline this season.
Mustafi was replaced in today’s match by Héctor Bellerín (himself just returning from injury), with starting right back Gabriel shifting over to the central defender role
As Per Mertesacker is also still recovering from injury, either Gabriel or Rob Holding will likely be the top choices to replace Mustafi in the starting lineup.
There’s no way to truly replace Mustafi though, so hopefully he gets well soon.