MUSTAFI: I CHOSE HAMBURG OVER BAYERN

Arsenal summer transfer addition Shkodran Mustafi has said he had the option of playing for German champions Bayern Munich as a teenager but he chose to play for Hamburg.

“I had trials at Hamburg, Eintracht, Frankfurt, Werder Bremen and even FC Bayern. My father asked me where it suited me best, so I opted for HSV.”

The 24-year old has enjoyed a decent career growth so far, appearing three years at Hamburg, before his switch to England to play for Everton FC in 2009. Mustafi couldn’t get his breakthrough in the English Premier League, playing just one game in the first team set-up as a substitute in his over two-year stay. This forced the player to make a return to his native.

Mustafi made an impact when he joined Sampdoria. He switched to Valencia before the Gunners secured his services in the heat of their injury crisis. Arsenal reportedly paid €41 million to get the services of the German

The dedicated Muslim is known to hold his faith in high regard, saying it is “very very important.” There are five other Muslims in the German set-up. Gundogan who moved to Manchester City, Emre Can of Liverpool, Karim Bellarabi of Bayer Leverkusen, Sami Khedira of Juve and Mesut Ozil of Arsenal, aside Mustafi makes the list.

“Religion isn’t a big deal within the team or the DFB [German Football Association], but there’s Halal mean at the team buffer. I do try and arrange my life according to my faith but it’s not always that easy to pray five times a day when away on Champions League duty. I definitely want to travel to Mecca at some stage. Every Muslim should do that once in their lifetime,” Mustafi revealed.