There might come a time, if it has not already, that Everton regret the decency David Moyes once showed to the sick boy who became one of the most imposing men in the Premier League.
It was in 2012 that Shkodran Mustafi went to see Moyes to say he felt it was time to move on. He had made one substitute appearance in the Europa League since arriving from Germany as a 17-year-old and he needed to get through 'the wall'.
'Sick of football,' was how he put it at the time. 'I had six months of my contract left,' recalls Mustafi. 'They had offered to extend it but I had made my decision.
Mustafi is finding his way again in England after enduring a tough time as a youngster
He arrived from Valencia in the summer and has already made a name for himself.
'I went there when I was 17, so a young guy, and 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.
'I thought I would prefer to make a step backwards and get games, rather than just going year after year not making a step. I knew I had to look for solutions, even if that meant going to the second division in Italy to get my games. It was a big decision.' Mustafi put all this to Moyes.
'I told the club and David Moyes,' he says. 'He actualy 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 appreciate from David Moyes
'I might have 200 Premier League games for Everton by now but for me it was more important not to hit the wall.'
The 'what ifs' are surely more strongly felt by Everton in this scenario. Mustafi has gone on to become the Invincible in Arsenal's defence, a ball-playing boulder at the back who has won the World Cup with Germany and has never lost a game for Arsenal.
I left for Italy to play more games. It was important not to hit the wall.
The count is at 16 appearances in all competitions without defeat going into Saturday's fixture with Stoke, and there is a wider sense among staff at the club that this 24-year-old has the potential to become one of the great Arsenal defenders.
His background is fascinating, as are his views on topics from immigration to religion. The son of a road labourer, Mustafi was born and raised in Bad Hersfeld in central Germany after his grandfather had moved to the country from Albania with 'zero'. Grandfather Fariz is significant in Mustafi's tale.
'It shaped a lot for me,' Mustafi says. 'When I was 14 I joined Hamburg's academy (250 miles north of home) and at that age you are struggling in those first few weeks. You are not at home, you don't see your family and your friends, and suddenly it's not football the way I knew it at home.
'Instead of just playing with friends suddenly it's about pressure. I think about my grand-father's situation. I started at a pro club and grew in my career and he also started from zero because he left everything behind to go to Germany to build a life for him and for us as well.
'At least I knew the language and I was born in that country. I had it easier than him so I thought if he did it, I can make it as well. It helped me in that situation.'
The Hamburg move led to Everton and that led to Sampdoria in Serie B after Mustafi's conversation with Moyes. Following two seasons in Italy, he joined the circus of Valencia and their rotating managers where he truly excelled amid two seasons of chaos.
He was there when Gary Neville blew in and blew out again. 'I respected him as a player — he was fantastic,' says Mustafi. 'As a coach I think he had the right ideas but at that time in Valencia it was difficult for every coach, not just Gary Neville.
'I tried to talk as much as possible with him because he was a great defender. I wanted to learn from him but he was in a learning process, too. He wasn't used to Spanish football. It was a situation where I was trying to learn from him and he was trying to learn from us.
'I don't know if he will go back to coaching but if he wants he can because he has the character to be a leader.'
My grandad had zero - I thought if he can make it so can I.
When Mustafi made his own exit, joining Arsenal in the summer, his £35million fee made him the third most expensive defender in history.
He has lived in four countries in seven years but says: 'I feel settled. It is funny, as footballers we are all just moving around. I see people in England and then Italy and the same people in Spain. We're all moving all the time.'
Immigration, by extension, is a subject close to his heart. 'You have to understand when people who come into the UK and Germany that you don't know what this person saw in his life before,' he says.
'When I go back to Albania you have six-year-olds who do not go to school and have to work. There are no schools. So they come to this country and it is difficult. We all need to understand the differences.
'It is complicated but it needs understanding.'
Staff at Arsenal talk about Mustafi as a deeply socially-conscious presence, a devout Muslim who prays five times a day.
He once delayed the start of a Valencia Press conference because there was a bottle of beer on the desk.
He has given this interview, his first since joining Arsenal, to promote Arsenal's dedicated charity matchday against Stoke, with manager Arsene Wenger and each player donating a day's pay to The Arsenal Foundation.
'It's important because you can give so much with football,' he says. 'I talk to my father and ask why was he so obsessed with football? It was about not having time to go with bad friends and doing things I shouldn't.
'He was obsessed with bringing me to every training session. If you give people the opportunity to play, that's good because football is about respect and this foundation helps with that opportunity.'
It is to Arsenal's immense benefit that Mustafi once found his opportunities so limited.
Ultimately, he says he feels comfortable living in England and playing for the Gunners
Source: dailymail.co.uk
It was in 2012 that Shkodran Mustafi went to see Moyes to say he felt it was time to move on. He had made one substitute appearance in the Europa League since arriving from Germany as a 17-year-old and he needed to get through 'the wall'.
'Sick of football,' was how he put it at the time. 'I had six months of my contract left,' recalls Mustafi. 'They had offered to extend it but I had made my decision.
Mustafi is finding his way again in England after enduring a tough time as a youngster
He arrived from Valencia in the summer and has already made a name for himself.
'I went there when I was 17, so a young guy, and 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.
'I thought I would prefer to make a step backwards and get games, rather than just going year after year not making a step. I knew I had to look for solutions, even if that meant going to the second division in Italy to get my games. It was a big decision.' Mustafi put all this to Moyes.
'I told the club and David Moyes,' he says. 'He actualy 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 appreciate from David Moyes
'I might have 200 Premier League games for Everton by now but for me it was more important not to hit the wall.'
The 'what ifs' are surely more strongly felt by Everton in this scenario. Mustafi has gone on to become the Invincible in Arsenal's defence, a ball-playing boulder at the back who has won the World Cup with Germany and has never lost a game for Arsenal.
I left for Italy to play more games. It was important not to hit the wall.
The count is at 16 appearances in all competitions without defeat going into Saturday's fixture with Stoke, and there is a wider sense among staff at the club that this 24-year-old has the potential to become one of the great Arsenal defenders.
His background is fascinating, as are his views on topics from immigration to religion. The son of a road labourer, Mustafi was born and raised in Bad Hersfeld in central Germany after his grandfather had moved to the country from Albania with 'zero'. Grandfather Fariz is significant in Mustafi's tale.
'It shaped a lot for me,' Mustafi says. 'When I was 14 I joined Hamburg's academy (250 miles north of home) and at that age you are struggling in those first few weeks. You are not at home, you don't see your family and your friends, and suddenly it's not football the way I knew it at home.
'Instead of just playing with friends suddenly it's about pressure. I think about my grand-father's situation. I started at a pro club and grew in my career and he also started from zero because he left everything behind to go to Germany to build a life for him and for us as well.
'At least I knew the language and I was born in that country. I had it easier than him so I thought if he did it, I can make it as well. It helped me in that situation.'
The Hamburg move led to Everton and that led to Sampdoria in Serie B after Mustafi's conversation with Moyes. Following two seasons in Italy, he joined the circus of Valencia and their rotating managers where he truly excelled amid two seasons of chaos.
He was there when Gary Neville blew in and blew out again. 'I respected him as a player — he was fantastic,' says Mustafi. 'As a coach I think he had the right ideas but at that time in Valencia it was difficult for every coach, not just Gary Neville.
'I tried to talk as much as possible with him because he was a great defender. I wanted to learn from him but he was in a learning process, too. He wasn't used to Spanish football. It was a situation where I was trying to learn from him and he was trying to learn from us.
'I don't know if he will go back to coaching but if he wants he can because he has the character to be a leader.'
My grandad had zero - I thought if he can make it so can I.
When Mustafi made his own exit, joining Arsenal in the summer, his £35million fee made him the third most expensive defender in history.
He has lived in four countries in seven years but says: 'I feel settled. It is funny, as footballers we are all just moving around. I see people in England and then Italy and the same people in Spain. We're all moving all the time.'
Immigration, by extension, is a subject close to his heart. 'You have to understand when people who come into the UK and Germany that you don't know what this person saw in his life before,' he says.
'When I go back to Albania you have six-year-olds who do not go to school and have to work. There are no schools. So they come to this country and it is difficult. We all need to understand the differences.
'It is complicated but it needs understanding.'
Staff at Arsenal talk about Mustafi as a deeply socially-conscious presence, a devout Muslim who prays five times a day.
He once delayed the start of a Valencia Press conference because there was a bottle of beer on the desk.
He has given this interview, his first since joining Arsenal, to promote Arsenal's dedicated charity matchday against Stoke, with manager Arsene Wenger and each player donating a day's pay to The Arsenal Foundation.
'It's important because you can give so much with football,' he says. 'I talk to my father and ask why was he so obsessed with football? It was about not having time to go with bad friends and doing things I shouldn't.
'He was obsessed with bringing me to every training session. If you give people the opportunity to play, that's good because football is about respect and this foundation helps with that opportunity.'
It is to Arsenal's immense benefit that Mustafi once found his opportunities so limited.
Ultimately, he says he feels comfortable living in England and playing for the Gunners
Source: dailymail.co.uk
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