Arsenal defender reveals he used to be a striker

Arsenal defender Shkodran Mustafi began his football career dreaming of scoring goals, not preventing them. 

The German's defensive capabilities encouraged Arsenal to sign him, but the former Valencia man didn't even start playing as a centre-half until he was a teenager. 

Mustafi, who came through the ranks at Hamburg before moving to Everton in 2009, used to play as a striker. 

“First of all, I’m happy now because otherwise I don’t know if I would be here,” he told the club's website. “But when I started, I started as a striker. 

“When I was only 14, I signed for Hamburg and slowly went all the way back to the defence. 

“I played in front of the defence for a few games and then in the end I ended up being a central defender and then I got a call up for the national team, for the under-15s at this time, and then it became my position.”