Shkodran Mustafi has admitted in an interview that he is a normal person like any other and will have poor games.
The German international has already proved a big hit at the Emirates since his summer move from Valencia and has become a favourite among the Gunners faithful.
But speaking with theMirror, devout Muslim Mustafihas conceded his religion remains of paramountimportance in his life. He said: "My religion means so much to me and to my career. It helps me so much.At the end of it all, I'm a person like any other who is on the Earth to strive for paradise.That is my main task. And if I play a c**p game it's not the end of the world.�
Mustafi's faith, however, has got him involved in controversy before when playing in Spain. During a press conference in his Valencia days, Mustafi had a beer bottle put in front of him and refused to speak to the media until it was removed.
This was a fight he had to eventually concede because the bottle of Estrella lager is a large sponsor for Valencia and must be visible at all times.
He was also offered a drink in his Everton days, but refused on the grounds of his beliefs. He has since come out and said:I did win the battle in the end, you know.I did not want people thinking I'm doing this for beer advertising.
At the end, the bottle remained standing but the club and the brewery apologised to me because they understood that as a Muslim alcohol is not acceptable in any form.And the moral is that such beliefs are now respected in Valencia.�