Arsenal ace defender Shkodran Mustafi has added the much needed strength in the Gunners defensive line-up after arriving at the Emirates from Spanish club Valencia this summer.
And now Mustafi has heaped praise on the club’s fans and insisted that he wants to repay their love by giving his best on the footballing pitch.
The German defender has proved his mettle in the Gunners setup and has formed a brilliant partnership with skipper Laurent Koscielny at the heart of the Arsenal defence.
Mustafi told Goal.com: “You have to respect the fans a lot. They’re not earning the money we are earning and pay to come into the stadium, sometimes away trips, plus transport.”
“It shows you how much they love this club and you have to give them respect for that.”
“What I can give them back is trying to give them everything back on the pitch. As long as I work for the club that they love, I’m just going to give everything, so I’m happy with myself and make people happy.”
The down to earth German star admitted that he continuously reminds himself of his responsibilities and sometimes becomes angry when he feels that he could have done much better.
Mustafi added: “Even if you play bad, as long as you know that you gave everything and the people see that, it makes a huge difference.”
“I try to give the people what they want back because they’re not asking that much. There’s nothing worse than playing a game thinking: ‘We lost but I could have done more.”
“This is something that makes me so angry that I started a few years ago to think ‘this is your opportunity, you have to give everything because you only have 10-12 years and then it’s finished.”
“‘Enjoy these years doing what you love to do.’ When you go into a routine every day, driving to training, going home, doing interviews, it becomes something normal but you have to remind yourself that it’s not – it’s something special.”
