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On the 2nd of July, Arsenal announced the transfer of Sokratis Papastathopoulus from Borussia Dortmund. The Greece defender has joined on a long term contract for a fee believed to be in the region of £16 million. He is Unai Emery's third signing at the club, following Bernd Leno and Stephan Lichsteiner. Sokratis, who is commonly referred to by his forename, has over a decade of first-team experience and joins Arsenal after seven seasons in the Bundesliga with Werder Bremen and then Dortmund.
He will look to put his experience to use this season with The Gunners. Arsenal conceded the most goals in the 2017/18 season than in any other season since the formation of the Premier League. Unai Emery has definitely seen this susceptible defence and decided to bring reinforcements. Sokratis Papasthatopoulus gives the team experience as well as a defensive backbone around which the team can contend for the title
#1 Experience
Bringing in a 30 year old to the club isn't usually seen as a profitable move for most clubs. Similarly, Sokratis' move to the club isn't a long term signing. He will mostly be able to give a year or two of his best. One would suppose this is a bad transfer if they were to see that Sokratis has only few rewards left to reap. However, a key point of sigining a player that is 30 years old and as mature as Sokratis is that he will bring in much needed experience to the Arsenal back line. Having played for seven seasons in Germany, and three in Italy (the top league in both countries), the Greek international will be well versed with the game.
Furthermore, Arsenal have an array of young centre halves who are seen as the future of the club. These players include Calum Chambers, Konstantinos Mavropanos and Rob Holding. All the above players have shown a sneak peak of what they can grow into. However, consistency seems to be a problem with these young players as none of them have gained a strong footing in the main 11. Not only will the experience of Sokratis help these players but his vocal abilities will help them correct their errors and maintain their positions.
#2 His mentality
As previously stated, Arsenal have conceded more goals this season as compared to any season of theirs since the formation of the Premier League. The main reason behind the high frequency of the ball ending up in our own net is sloppy and lethargic defending. Many a times the Arsenal centre halves were asleep at crucial moments, took up poor defensive positions, and got caught out by mentally sharp attackers. The centre halves were more concerned with how they could play the ball out and how they could pass the ball rather than focusing on how to win the ball and their main job: defending.
Sokratis has received lots of praise for his 'love' to defend. His fight, his determination and his warrior-like spirit are all attributes that one loves to see in a defender. He is not afraid to use his physicality to his advantage and is no push over when it comes to defending. However, all these qualities come at the cost of a number of fouls and the continuous risk of getting booked. He may also make a few errors and get caught out of position at times. However, having a defender who keeps defending as his priority and would inculcate his ethics on his peers is invaluable and a huge asset to the club. Here are a few words from his Arsenal interview:
“I’m a normal defender who likes to defend. I like that my team doesn’t [concede] goals and I like the zero in the defence of course. I will do everything to help achieve these goals. I think that a defender first has to defend, to protect the goal, and then after if he can help in front a little bit for the game, then it’s good. But first of all, he has to defend.”
#3 Link up with former players
Since Sven Mislintat's appointment in 2017, he has had a huge say in the transfers that happen at Arsenal FC. This is seen in the recent transactions of the club to bring in three former Borussia Dortmund players to Arsenal. Mislintat worked at Borussia Dortmund for 10 years before coming to Arsenal and has brought in players that have taken a short time to make a mark.
Sokratis Papastathopoulus is one of Sven's recruits. He is joined by Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, his former teammates who were crucial in bringing him to Arsenal. ‘I spoke [to Mkhitaryan and Aubameyang] a lot of times,’ Sokratis told Arsenal during his first interview. ‘They have said the best about this club, that it is one big family, and of course they called me, not every day, but a lot of times, to tell me to come here.' He has won two Bundesliga titles and one German Cup during his time at Dortmund.
The Greek defender became good friends with Aubameyang when they both signed for Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund around the same time in 2013. They were able to communicate well with each other as both of them spoke more Italian than German. Sokratis, Aubameyang and Mkhitaryan will look to recreate their Dortmund success at Arsenal and the latter two have already helped Arsenal's new signing settle into the club.
#4 Attacking threat
Sokratis is a player who isn't afraid to use his physicality to his advantage. This extends to the offensive side of the game as well. He is able to win a majority of headers and is an attacking threat during set pieces. He is a decent passer of the ball and can be ambitious at times, taking shots from outside the box.
Although he hasn’t scored more than two goals in a single campaign in his career, Sokratis has scored at least one league goal in each of his seven seasons in the Bundesliga (the Greek international scored on two occasions in both 2016/17 and 2017/18). A total of 15 attempts on goal last season – seven of which, curiously, were from outside the box – was more than Shkodran Mustafi (13) and Laurent Koscielny (nine) managed, but fewer than Nacho Monreal (22).
Furthermore, Arsenal scored 16 goals from set plays in the 2017/18 season, more than any other team. With skilled set piece takers like Mesut Özil and Henrikh Mkhitaryan in his team, the Greek international will hope to contribute to the team offensively as well.
He is a leader
The Arsenal back line is prone to making errors. This is mainly due to the lack of leadership in the defence. Koscielny is not vocal and Mustafi is inconsistent and not a true leader. This often leads to Arsenal defenders losing the ball unnecessarily and switching off on occasions. With Koscielny out for six months due to an ACL injury, much of the burden of the team's leadership will fall on Sokratis
After wearing the captain's armband on various occasions for Borussia Dortmund as well as the Greece national team, Sokratis has experience of being the leader in the team. He is vocal and leads by example. With years of experience under his belt, Arsenal could finally get the leader they have been crying out for.
He will be vital in Arsenal's 2018/19 campaign as he will not only be the backbone of the team's defence but also a huge mentor to all the young players in the side. In Koscielny's absence, he will mostly play with a young centre half beside him and will have to put all his experience to use to achieve the best results for the team. However, seeing the Greek defender's mentality, there is no doubt he will take this challenge head on and help Unai Emery achieve success in his first season at Arsenal.
