Arsenal’s Mustafi has lost to BATE twice after being on pitch in Everton defeat in 2009
Belarusian minnows have only notched two wins over English sides - and both times the Germany defender has had to hang his head in shame
YOU wait ten years in hope rather than expectation. Then suddenly the same Mus comes along again.
BATE Borisov have only beaten English sides twice - and both times Shkodran Mustafi has had to hang his head in shame while the Belarus outsiders celebrated.
The Germany centre-back came on as a late Everton substitute when the Toffees lost their final Europa League group game to BATE 1-0 at Goodison Park in 2009, albeit having already qualified for the KO stage.
And the 26-year-old endured the whole 90 minutes on the pitch when Arsenal also succumbed by the only goal in Thursday night's last-32 away leg in the same competition.
Stanislav Dragun stole above the Gunners defence to flash a BATE winner well above the standard of most of the action.
But, to be fair to Mustafi, most of Arsenal's problems were at the other end.
How can a team have 77 per-cent of the ball, win the shots-on-target count 16-6 and the corner tally 12-3, yet still deserve little sympathy?
That is the big poser for boss Unai Emery and his plodding team - although there will be far more serious questions to answer if the Gunners fail to overturn the narrow deficit on what will be a much-smoother Emirates surface.
Meanwhile, Mustafi's unwanted double is an oddball stat to throw on the mounting pile of evidence against his long-term future with the Gunners.
SunSport suggested just last week that Emery is ready to cut his losses on the £35million misfit, two years after Mustafi arrived from Valencia as the world's third-costliest defender ever.
Sky TV pundit Jamie Carragher has been particularly scathing.
After this month's 3-1 Premier League loss at Manchester City, the ex-Liverpool defender said Mustafi had "never been good enough since the day he walked through the door".
So in the return leg if BATE park the bus they might again want to face Mus!
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