An Arsenal player has today been criticised by both the club’s fans and general football supporters for treating a pre-season achievement like a trophy.
Describing it as an affront to everything the club holds dear, fans labelled defender Shkodran Mustafi “disrespectful” for celebrating the birth of his first child as if it was an actual sporting triumph.
Gunners fans are said to have taken particular issue with the German international’s conscious decision to trivialise actual achievements by treating something as common as the birth of a human in that way.
“Look at Mustafi there. Kissing his child’s forehead and crying, holding it up proudly, you’d swear he was holding the Premier League trophy. It’s embarrassing!” said one angry fan today, adding that it was especially disappointing to see Mustafi act so appallingly just days ahead of the new season.
“How can we expect to be taken seriously when our players are celebrating every little thing that happens? He’ll be celebrating his first steps and words next. Pathetic.”
🔙🔛🔝 My greatest and most important trophy 🏆❤👶🏼🏆 #proud #familyfirst #love #mashallah pic.twitter.com/jR2AVExI5X
— Shkodran Mustafi (@MustafiOfficial) August 7, 2017
Another supporter, who asked not to be named, was angered by the defender’s choice of hashtags in the post.
Including the term “family first”, he claimed, was merely a statement of Mustafi’s lack of dedication to the club and his teammates.
“It should be ‘team first’, all day, every day fam. He can care about his family all he likes but during the football season, the team and the fans have to be his main priority,” said the fan, before adding that while he would not go so far as to suggest Mustafi gives up his child, a compromise must be found.
“Not forever, obviously, but he must have a relative who can take the baby until May, blud. It’s the least he can do if he is serious about achieving something that’s actually special.”
At press time, the post by Mustafi had also spawned a video post by Arsenal Fan TV, with the channel’s various guests debating whether footballers should be allowed to have children at all.
