Arsenal have had several excellent centre-back partnerships over the years.
Steve Bould and Tony Adams led a dominant Gunners back-line in the 1990s, before Kolo Toure and Sol Campbell emerged as a monstrous duo in the 2000s.
The Frenchman and Englishman formed arguably one of the most formidable defensive partnerships in modern football, leading Arsene Wenger’s side across an unbeaten season in 2003/04.
However, after Toure and Campbell dispersed, Arsenal went through an extended period of trialling several different central defensive duos, none of which lived up to the legendary pairs that came before them.
That was until William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes formed their partnership, which has led the North Londoners to the brink of remarkable success in recent years.
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Arsenal fans thought Lauren Koscielny and Shkodran Mustafi had formed an imperious partnership
There have been many false dawns on the centre-back front for Arsenal since Toure and Campbell.
Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker flirted with the prospect of being an effective duo for a bit, and while they were certainly solid for one or two seasons together, they weren’t able to sustain it as the German aged.
Koscielny did, however, briefly possess a partnership that looked promising with another German.
Arsenal signed Shkodran Mustafi for £35 million from Valencia in 2016, with the player arriving with an impressive pedigree, having been part of Germany’s 2014 World Cup winning squad.
Mustafi quickly became known for his inconsistency, and ultimately his lack of quality, but things got off to a good start for him in N5.
In the first ten games he was deployed next to Koscielny by Wenger, Arsenal conceded just three goals from open play.
These early signs of an impenetrable partnership sparked excitement from Gunners supporters, and you couldn’t blame them.
One fan wrote on X in September 2016: “So many excellent performances yesterday, but one of the most satisfying parts was Koscielny-Mustafi at the back. Growing partnership.”
Another added: “So happy with the Koscielny/Mustafi partnership. They ruined [Diego] Costa and kept Chelsea at bay with ease; first shot on target on 84 minutes.”
The same fan wrote, just a few weeks later: “Mustafi. It is a joy to watch such a commanding CB playing alongside Koscielny. Impressed with how he has settled into the team so quickly.”
Meanwhile, another supporter wrote, “live images of Koscielny and Mustafi this season”, followed by an image of a wall.
However, one fan went a step further, writing: “Mustafi has fitted in seamlessly, already his partnership with Koscielny is looking like Arsenal’s best since Toure & Campbell!”
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Arsenal fans were right to be excited about ‘Kostafi’
While some of these takes may seem outrageous now, Arsenal fans had been deprived of quality centre-back partnerships for some time and were valid in their excitement.
The relationship between the two players on the pitch had impressed so much in its early iterations that the partnership was coined ‘Kostafi’ by the club’s official website.
On paper, you had the aggressive Mustafi who was excellent in the air and would stay tight with attackers to nip in early, while you had the athletic Koscielny sweeping around him.
In reality, the former eventually turned out to be something of a liability, and the latter started to decline as he got into his latter years at the top level.
It’ll be remembered for its early promise, but ultimately won’t be remembered all that fondly by Arsenal fans.
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