Sokratis Papastathopoulos

[Alkane]

Don’t really understand why people are slating this signing. We’ve been out of the top 4 for 2 years now, supposedly have a pretty limited budget and need at least 4 players. For the reported fee it’s a shrewd piece of business, granted he isn’t a world beater but as it stands our current options are a crippled Koscielny, Mustafi and Chambers...

 

[Xhaka is class]

Lead with love

They finished 18 points ahead of us and I think those 18 points were down to defensive weaknesses.

United have better CB than us and we needed an upgrade. Bailly Alderweireld is pretty good. Sokratis would be back up to them I think

I’m glad we got him

Alderweireld isn't a United player yet so it's misleading to count him, United happen to have a World class goalkeeper they're defense is Meh too they concede many chances. Their whole defense is mediocre except for Baily, our home game vs them is testament to how much DDG bails them out on a regular basis.

I don't think the fact that they finished 18 points in front of us is an indicator of how much better they are but rather an indictment of how poor we were.

 

[tap-in]

Sokratis would have been the best CB at Utd and as he will be with us .

Yep, I said a while ago if he signs for us he's instantly our best CB. Look at the state of our defence, to think we can sign a 34 yr old and he will be out best CB is just insane. No wonder we had such an awful season!

 

[tap-in]

Very underwhelmed by this. Dortmund should have haggled for 50 million euros and kept the average fecker there, like clubs usually do with us.

He will be our best CB, I know that partly reflects the state of our defence but I'm interested why you are underwhelmed that we are signing a player who will be our best CB for EUR 17m?

 

[ThlRama]

He will be our best CB, I know that partly reflects the state of our defence but I'm interested why you are underwhelmed that we are signing a player who will be our best CB for EUR 17m?

We don't know if he will be our best CB; because Mustafi, for all his faults, very quickly regressed under Wenger, and he could just as quickly get back to his best form ever under Emery.

But even if you think the above scenario is out of the question, it doesn't matter. My point is that Sokratis still isn't good enough for what we need. I have elsewhere pointed out that he is a player that has just regressed for the second season in a row when he should be at his best. A few years ago he had top reputation because there a potential for him to improve on the weak areas of his game, and then he regressed instead. A mess.

In my opinion, Sokratis only has experience and leadership over what we've seen from Chambers at his best this season. He wouldn't start at any other top 6 club.

 

[tap-in]

We don't know if he will be our best CB; because Mustafi, for all his faults, very quickly regressed under Wenger, and he could just as quickly get back to his best form ever under Emery.

But even if you think the above scenario is out of the question, it doesn't matter. My point is that Sokratis still isn't good enough for what we need. I have elsewhere pointed out that he is a player that has just regressed for the second season in a row when he should be at his best. A few years ago he had top reputation because there a potential for him to improve on the weak areas of his game, and then he regressed instead. A mess.

In my opinion, Sokratis only has experience and leadership over what we've seen from Chambers at his best this season. He wouldn't start at any other top 6 club.

We have very few players who would start at the other top 6 clubs and none of them are defenders. I also hope Mustafi improves but that remains to be seen. I feel our money is best spent on a GK and midfield, that's why Sokratis is good business, same with Lichtsteiner.

 

[dashsnow17]

How about a Sokratis-Benatia partnership? I mean it'd have a shelf life of about 2 years max, and could probably only play once a week...but it'd be decent while it lasts.

Granted not much has happened yet this summer, but you can already glimpse the impact our two years out of the Champions League is having. You can sense our stature is somewhat diminished. I'd rather be back in the Champions League immediately and then have to sort out the ageing CBs in a couple of years than continue this Europa League f*ckery and see our stature diminish even further.

Sokratis & Benatia come and form a solid defence next season and get us back in the CL, suddenly everyone is reminded that Arsenal aren't so bad after all. Every year we're out of the CL it's just reinforcing this mediocrity.

 

[Slartibartfast]

Don’t really understand why people are slating this signing. We’ve been out of the top 4 for 2 years now, supposedly have a pretty limited budget and need at least 4 players. For the reported fee it’s a shrewd piece of business, granted he isn’t a world beater but as it stands our current options are a crippled Koscielny, Mustafi and Chambers...

Because they have a fantasy football mentality. They want only big money signings of young players who are hyped as the next big thing. They think humans are incapable of performing at a high level once they hit their 30th birthday. Plus they probably haven't actually watched Sokratis except when Dortmund played Arsenal and don't realize what a rock-steady player he has been (and still is). A player in the prime of his career available for a bargain price doesn't interest them because they don't think they can brag to their City-supporting mates about it. They'd rather pay £60 million for the next John Stones.

 

[razörist]

Because they have a fantasy football mentality. They want only big money signings of young players who are hyped as the next big thing. They think humans are incapable of performing at a high level once they hit their 30th birthday. Plus they probably haven't actually watched Sokratis except when Dortmund played Arsenal and don't realize what a rock-steady player he has been (and still is). A player in the prime of his career available for a bargain price doesn't interest them because they don't think they can brag to their City-supporting mates about it. They'd rather pay £60 million for the next John Stones.

/thread.

 

[ArtetaCognition]

Because they have a fantasy football mentality. They want only big money signings of young players who are hyped as the next big thing. They think humans are incapable of performing at a high level once they hit their 30th birthday. Plus they probably haven't actually watched Sokratis except when Dortmund played Arsenal and don't realize what a rock-steady player he has been (and still is). A player in the prime of his career available for a bargain price doesn't interest them because they don't think they can brag to their City-supporting mates about it. They'd rather pay £60 million for the next John Stones.

This. Also symptomatic of the culture that the British football media propagates.

 

[hydrofluoric acid]

Any news?

 

[Shaun90]

Because they have a fantasy football mentality. They want only big money signings of young players who are hyped as the next big thing. They think humans are incapable of performing at a high level once they hit their 30th birthday. Plus they probably haven't actually watched Sokratis except when Dortmund played Arsenal and don't realize what a rock-steady player he has been (and still is). A player in the prime of his career available for a bargain price doesn't interest them because they don't think they can brag to their City-supporting mates about it. They'd rather pay £60 million for the next John Stones.

This.

Also in the case of Sokratis, they write him off based on an 8 minute YouTube video in which he slide tackles too much. Not taking into account that a) the footage covers 5 years so there are going to be a lot of slide tackles b) editors on YouTube pick the slide tackles because they are more visually pleasing. It's not going to show subtle aspects of his game. YouTube videos aren't representative. You could do a video of any defender and their videos will include just as many slide tackles as Sokratis does.

 

[Kobi]

Because they have a fantasy football mentality. They want only big money signings of young players who are hyped as the next big thing. They think humans are incapable of performing at a high level once they hit their 30th birthday. Plus they probably haven't actually watched Sokratis except when Dortmund played Arsenal and don't realize what a rock-steady player he has been (and still is). A player in the prime of his career available for a bargain price doesn't interest them because they don't think they can brag to their City-supporting mates about it. They'd rather pay £60 million for the next John Stones.

On the contrary I'm far happier with the signing of Lichtsteiner who's much older and much cheaper.
My scepticism comes from not wanting yet another stocky, aggressive/rash central defender, nothing at all to do with his price or reputation.

 

[Aevi]

Any news?

 

[al-Ustaadh]

 

[GDeep™]

Acceptable signing.

 

[KrissKringle]

Acceptable signing.

Bollocks! You think he's a greek farmer, admit it!

 

[GDeep™]

Bollocks! You think he's a greek farmer, admit it!

He’s not top quality, no doubt. But he’s cheap, at a good age and a decent level.

 

[Slartibartfast]

On the contrary I'm far happier with the signing of Lichtsteiner who's much older and much cheaper.
My scepticism comes from not wanting yet another stocky, aggressive/rash central defender, nothing at all to do with his price or reputation.

You'd rather have passive, weak-kneed defenders lacking in physicality and aggression? What league do you think Arsenal competes in?

 

[Tir Na Nog]

I'd say he's acceptable because we can't get much better. He alone is not gonna turn our defence from the average mess it is currently to being top 4 quality once again though.