Shkodran Mustafi takes dig at former Arsenal boss Unai Emery with social media post praising Arteta

SHKODRAN MUSTAFI has hit out at former Arsenal boss Unai Emery by praising new manager Mikel Arteta on social media.

In a thinly veiled dig at Emery, Mustafi posted a picture of himself in conversation with Arteta on Instagram alongside the caption: “Communication is the key to improvement.”

The Arsenal squad are spending their winter break in Dubai on a warm-weather training camp giving Arteta a chance to stamp his mark on the side.

His predecessor Emery was regularly criticised for struggling to get his point across to the players during his stint in North London.

The Spaniard’s on-field instructions often proved to be confusing for the Arsenal stars and Mustafi’s post appears to be an attack on his former manager.

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Gunners goalkeeper Bernd Leno admitted things were not always clear during Emery’s reign.

He said: “The mentality out on the pitch, I don’t want to say it was a mess, but it was a bit confusing. Everyone was doing different things. We were not a team.”

Mustafi’s form slumped under Emery and he was constantly in and out of the team after making a number of costly errors.

The German defender has experienced somewhat of a resurgence under Arteta – playing in six out of the nine games since the former Manchester City assistant was given the top job at the Emirates.

However, despite impressing his new players Arteta has not had the most convincing of starts on the pitch.

The Gunners are on a run of four consecutive draws leaving them 10th in the league – five points outside the top six places and a potential Europa League spot.

Mustafi will hope to feature when Arsenal return to Premier League action at home to Newcastle on Sunday.

The 27-year-old had looked like he was set for an extended spell out on the sidelines after being stretchered off the pitch during Arsenal’s 2-1 FA Cup win over Bournemouth at the end of January.

But the injury was not as bad as first feared and he made a remarkable recovery to take his place in the heart of the Arsenal back four for the 0-0 draw at Burnley.