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#3 Sokratis Papastathopoulos
Strengths: Sokratis is a warrior and leader in the truest sense. Willing to put his body on the line, his commitment to defending is second to none. Out of Arsenal’s centre backs, he is the best aerial defender. In addition to being a good game reader, he brings bags of experience to an inexperienced back-line. The Greek defender was brought in from Borussia Dortmund in the summer. He had a solid pre-season for the Gunners and Emery would hope he can hit the ground running against the Cityzens.
Weaknesses: Pace is not his biggest asset and he could find himself in trouble against some of the league’s speed merchants. The Premier League is much quicker than the Bundesliga and Sokratis would have to acclimatise swiftly.
Of the current Centre Backs fit enough to play, Sokratis represents the most stable alternative. Arsenal have never had the fortune of having a warrior of the ilk of Tony Adams since he left. While Sokratis has a long way to emulate Adams, Sokratis relishes the prospect of being involved in a war of attrition, similar to Adams. If Sokratis is even half as successful as Mr. Arsenal, he would have had a stellar career at Arsenal.
