Arsenal defender Shkodran Mustafi has revealed that he is very indebted to David Moyes for helping him grow as a much better footballer. Mustafi had a brief stint with Everton for three years before switching to Sampdoria.
The German centre-back made only one single appearance for the Toffees in a Europa League defeat to Bate Borisov. Mustafi was 17 years old then and had been struggling to get into the first team as Everton already have a number of defenders.
Mustafi joined the Gunners in this summer for £35m and hasn’t lost a match since his arrival. Mustafi credited the manager for his success who allowed him to leave the club in 2012.
“I understand it was not easy for David Moyes to pick me because his team was working.
“But after two and a half years I started to think I really needed to play, even if that meant going to the second division in Italy.
“I told the club and David Moyes. He actually said to me, ‘If you don’t want to extend your contract, it is no problem. You are a young player, we do not want to destroy your career. If you want to go you can go, even in January if you want’. I really appreciated that from Moyes.
“I might have 200 Premier League games for Everton by now but for me it was more important not to hit the wall.”
