All great defensive pairings are built on a strong understanding - and the fledgling partnership of Shkodran Mustafi and Laurent Koscielny is no different.
Mustafi has enjoyed a promising start to life in N5 as part of a defensive unit which has kept four clean sheets in Arsenal's last four matches, and the World Cup winner believes Koscielny’s character has made it much easier for him to adapt.
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"I'm happy to have someone next to me that my understanding is good with, but I think it’s not about me and Lolo, I think it’s about all of the team."
“We are quite similar in the style of playing, he understands things that I do, I understand things that he does,” Mustafi told Arsenal Player. “If you play with someone who understands football in a different way, it’s even more difficult to get on with.
“But if you have someone next to you that sees football the same way you see football and that you think football, I think it’s easier to play with.
“I’m happy to have someone next to me that my understanding is good with, but I think it’s not about me and Lolo, I think it’s about all of the team.
“I think we are doing really good in the last games and obviously that gives us less to do at the back, so the few things we have to do, I think we dealt with it well. But I think the credit goes to the whole team.”
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