Arsenal star Shkodran Mustafi lifts the lid on touching Marco Reus tribute

ARSENAL’s Shkodran Mustafi has explained his tribute to Marco Reus while celebrating winning the World Cup with Germany.

The defender was snapped holding a shirt with his team-mate’s name on it after defeating Argentina in the final two years ago.

Many believed that Borussia Dortmund star Reus was going to shine at the tournament before he was cruelly injured and forced to withdraw before the star.

Mustafi was called up to replace him, but despite the joy at lift the biggest prize on the planet, he still took the time to remember his stricken friend.

“I played a game just before the World Cup,” Mustafi told Arsenal Player.

“I was in the last 27 but I didn’t make the last 23. But then Marco got injured and I got a call to join the team again, so I went to Brazil.

“When you think that you didn’t make the 23 players the first time, you think, ‘OK, I go there now, but my chances of playing aren’t going to be that big’. But straight away in the first game, you have to go out on to the pitch and in the second game you play again. Then you play again and again, and end up winning the World Cup.

“When people said to me that Marco was injured and now it was my turn, it always sounded a bit like they had forgotten about Marco because I was in the final 23 players.

“What I didn’t want was to forget him. I think he deserved to be there as well. He’s a fantastic player and that’s why I didn’t want to forget him.”

Mustafi has made a fine start to life in the Premier League and has helped the Gunners to record three consecutive clean sheets.

Watch ALL the goals from the Premier League before anyone else for FREE plus all the latest news, fixtures and results and live match commentary all on the go with the new Sun Football App – click here to download