Sokratis Papastathopoulos

[dashsnow17]

Also are people really expecting to see Mustafi sold? It's ok bringing in an experienced guy in Sokratis, but you'd still be left with very little experience since Kos is out. Whatever you think about Mustafi, our young CBs aren't markedly better than him right now. They may be in the future but you've got to be realistic.

We have a bunch of players in their prime elsewhere in the team, wouldn't it make more sense just to pair Sokratis with Mustafi and maximise the potential of the team? Unless you bring in two experienced CBs, which I doubt would happen.

 

[HairSprayGooners]

Also are people really expecting to see Mustafi sold? It's ok bringing in an experienced guy in Sokratis, but you'd still be left with very little experience since Kos is out. Whatever you think about Mustafi, our young CBs aren't markedly better than him right now. They may be in the future but you've got to be realistic.

We have a bunch of players in their prime elsewhere in the team, wouldn't it make more sense just to pair Sokratis with Mustafi and maximise the potential of the team? Unless you bring in two experienced CBs, which I doubt would happen.

I kept saying I'd sell Mustafi but there's literally no point. I'd rather keep him than sell for £15M now. Bring in Sokratis and a youngster such as Soyuncu then have Mustafi as 2nd choice senior CB until Kosc is fit. Possibly look at getting rid of Mustafi in January if he keeps up the calamitous moments.

I think he deserves another chance because last season was a shambles.

 

[tap-in]

Also are people really expecting to see Mustafi sold? It's ok bringing in an experienced guy in Sokratis, but you'd still be left with very little experience since Kos is out. Whatever you think about Mustafi, our young CBs aren't markedly better than him right now. They may be in the future but you've got to be realistic.

We have a bunch of players in their prime elsewhere in the team, wouldn't it make more sense just to pair Sokratis with Mustafi and maximise the potential of the team? Unless you bring in two experienced CBs, which I doubt would happen.

If a good offer came in for Mustafi then I'd be happy with Sokratis & Chambers as starters. You cant class Chambers as inexperienced and with the right coach he could be a very good CB. Mavro & Holding as back up. We will never recoup our money for Mustafi, £20m would be a good price if the club were prepared to take that loss.

 

[HairSprayGooners]

If a good offer came in for Mustafi then I'd be happy with Sokratis & Chambers as starters. You cant class Chambers as inexperienced and with the right coach he could be a very good CB. Mavro & Holding as back up. We will never recoup our money for Mustafi, £20m would be a good price if the club were prepared to take that loss.

For me Chambers will never be a good CB, he never was and it says a lot that we're going for two CB's in the market instead of giving him a chance. He wouldn't even get into the Burnley team.

 

[tap-in]

For me Chambers will never be a good CB, he never was and it says a lot that we're going for two CB's in the market instead of giving him a chance. He wouldn't even get into the Burnley team.

We need a GK & AM if we can bring in 2 x top CB's then great but I dont see that happening, not 2 starting CB's.

 

[HairSprayGooners]

We need a GK & AM if we can bring in 2 x top CB's then great but I dont see that happening, not 2 starting CB's.

I think we're looking at Suyuncu because they know Chambers/Holding aren't good enough.

GK
CB
An actual winger
CM
CB

Would be my order of priority.

 

[dashsnow17]

If a good offer came in for Mustafi then I'd be happy with Sokratis & Chambers as starters. You cant class Chambers as inexperienced and with the right coach he could be a very good CB. Mavro & Holding as back up. We will never recoup our money for Mustafi, £20m would be a good price if the club were prepared to take that loss.

But is Chambers really better than Mustafi? I think Chambers is decent but he's not better than Mustafi. Perhaps we just think he's better cos he hasn't played as much as Mustafi, and absence does make the heart grow fonder.

If you sold Mustafi, bought Sokratis and had Chambers, Mavro & Holding as the three others, trust me you'd come to regret it at some point. This guy Soyuncu looks very promising but he's not a better defender than Mustafi right now.

I totally get the sentiment behind the Mustafi witch-hunt, cos he's been beyond infuriating at times this season. But with Kos injured for the foreseeable future, selling him doesn't make you better. It might make you feel good, but it doesn't make the team better imo.

 

[HairSprayGooners]

But is Chambers really better than Mustafi? I think Chambers is decent but he's not better than Mustafi. Perhaps we just think he's better cos he hasn't played as much as Mustafi, and absence does make the heart grow fonder.

If you sold Mustafi, bought Sokratis and had Chambers, Mavro & Holding as the three others, trust me you'd come to regret it at some point. This guy Soyuncu looks very promising but he's not a better defender than Mustafi right now.

I totally get the sentiment behind the Mustafi witch-hunt, cos he's been beyond infuriating at times this season. But with Kos injured for the foreseeable future, selling him doesn't make you better. It might make you feel good, but it doesn't make the team better imo.

This x100.

All about that balance.

Mustafi
Sokratis
Suyuncu
Mavropanos
Koscielny (when/if he's back)

Is good imo.

 

[tap-in]

But is Chambers really better than Mustafi? I think Chambers is decent but he's not better than Mustafi. Perhaps we just think he's better cos he hasn't played as much as Mustafi, and absence does make the heart grow fonder.

If you sold Mustafi, bought Sokratis and had Chambers, Mavro & Holding as the three others, trust me you'd come to regret it at some point. This guy Soyuncu looks very promising but he's not a better defender than Mustafi right now.

I totally get the sentiment behind the Mustafi witch-hunt, cos he's been beyond infuriating at times this season. But with Kos injured for the foreseeable future, selling him doesn't make you better. It might make you feel good, but it doesn't make the team better imo.

If Mustafi stays I would have him and Sokratis as starters, my bit about Chambers was if we got a good price for Mustafi, if that doesnt happen he'll stay. I haven't given up with Mustafi yet, I would like to see how he is under a new manager. As for Soyuncu, I agree, looks very good but I think he'll go elsewhere and the fee being quoted will put us off.

 

[dashsnow17]

This x100.

All about that balance.

Mustafi
Sokratis
Suyuncu
Mavropanos
Koscielny (when/if he's back)

Is good imo.

What would you do with Chambers and Holding? I'd keep Chambers and loan Holding probably. I still see good things in both of them, but i'm not 100% confident they'll really make it. It takes time for CBs to really develop, people are too impatient with young CBs. At the very least they can be able back-up in the future.

If our first choice back line next season was Mustafi & Sokratis with Bellerin on one side and Monreal/Kolasinac on the other, I mean it could be better but beggars can't be choosers. Find an able replacement for Cech in goal, instil a bit more organisation, bring in a DM and I think that defence would concede fewer goals.

 

[dashsnow17]

This x100.

All about that balance.

Mustafi
Sokratis
Suyuncu
Mavropanos
Koscielny (when/if he's back)

Is good imo.

Two Greeks, a Turk and an Albanian...Jeez that dressing room's gonna be covered floor to ceiling in olives.

 

[Yousif Arsenal]

Two Greeks, a Turk and an Albanian...Jeez that dressing room's gonna be covered floor to ceiling in olives.

There will be some quality dancing tho.

 

[say yes]

Why are people annoyed we're only giving him a 2y deal?

That's perfect for us given his age. Doubt any bigger clubs are going to come in for him in the future and we can always renew for another 1-2 years so long as he doesn't decline much. Saves us ever being saddled with a past-it player.

It's him / his agent who should be wanting a longer deal.

 

[Penn_]

Could always be an optional third year in the contract. Wasn’t that why Rosicky and Mertesacker stayed on?

 

[Tom349]

Also are people really expecting to see Mustafi sold? It's ok bringing in an experienced guy in Sokratis, but you'd still be left with very little experience since Kos is out. Whatever you think about Mustafi, our young CBs aren't markedly better than him right now. They may be in the future but you've got to be realistic.

We have a bunch of players in their prime elsewhere in the team, wouldn't it make more sense just to pair Sokratis with Mustafi and maximise the potential of the team? Unless you bring in two experienced CBs, which I doubt would happen.

Mustafi is a lost cause. The sooner people realise this the better. We as Arsenal fans can only hope that the likes of Sven also see the diabolical performances he has produced for us and take a hit and get rid of him.

Mustafi's problems go far beyond any system holding him back and has everything to do with his poor understanding of the situations he finds himself in as a defender. There is no way as a team mate playing alongside him you could trust him to do his job. At least with say a Chambers you can have confidence in him to read a situation and determine whether to press up or hold back. Mustafi doesn't think and runs in recklessly and gets caught out.

Lastly I think the fact that we're going after Sokratis whose playing style is remarkably similar to Mustafi's also suggest the club is prepared to move on from Mustafi. Obviously with the key difference being Sokratis is far better at reading situations in particular when to press and when to hold back. I can't see us having two centrebacks who plays so aggressively, the exception being if we reverted back to back three.

 

[dashsnow17]

Mustafi is a lost cause. The sooner people realise this the better. We as Arsenal fans can only hope that the likes of Sven also see the diabolical performances he has produced for us and take a hit and get rid of him.

Mustafi's problems go far beyond any system holding him back and has everything to do with his poor understanding of the situations he finds himself in as a defender. There is no way as a team mate playing alongside him you could trust him to do his job. At least with say a Chambers you can have confidence in him to read a situation and determine whether to press up or hold back. Mustafi doesn't think and runs in recklessly and gets caught out.

Lastly I think the fact that we're going after Sokratis whose playing style is remarkably similar to Mustafi's also suggest the club is prepared to move on from Mustafi. Obviously with the key difference being Sokratis is far better at reading situations in particular when to press and when to hold back. I can't see us having two centrebacks who plays so aggressively, the exception being if we reverted back to back three.

That opinion is perfectly understandable, but can you really say that Chambers is better than Mustafi? I don't think you can say that. If you can bring in two CBs better than Mustafi then lovely, but I don't think that's realistic on our budget.

 

[HairSprayGooners]

What would you do with Chambers and Holding? I'd keep Chambers and loan Holding probably. I still see good things in both of them, but i'm not 100% confident they'll really make it. It takes time for CBs to really develop, people are too impatient with young CBs. At the very least they can be able back-up in the future.

If our first choice back line next season was Mustafi & Sokratis with Bellerin on one side and Monreal/Kolasinac on the other, I mean it could be better but beggars can't be choosers. Find an able replacement for Cech in goal, instil a bit more organisation, bring in a DM and I think that defence would concede fewer goals.

I'd sell Chambers to Palace for that rumoured £16m fee and then loan Holding to a premier league side to see how he does. Don't see anything in Chambers and never will but that's just me, don't see him as a title challenging CB.

 

[Tom349]

That opinion is perfectly understandable, but can you really say that Chambers is better than Mustafi? I don't think you can say that. If you can bring in two CBs better than Mustafi then lovely, but I don't think that's realistic on our budget.

Individually its a case of wait and see but its was clear as day that in the back end of the season that Chambers was the only one of our defenders who played under control and made the others around him play more organised. Which an organised defence is far more important than having talented defenders who play out of control, which is Mustafi in a nut shell.

 

[Gunners4life]

Hahahah I'm still waiting for higuain to be announced and they think I'll believe this

 

[Fillmore]

he's not near being over the hill though

Also Papa has a lot of international and European experience, to add to the 250 plus games he's played in Germany. Yes, different leagues and yes he'd be facing teams with likely very differet styles to what he has faced in the league, but he is an adaptable player.

There's no guarantee for any player of course, but I would actually see him as being more of a safe bet than a lot of players to be honest. He's been there and seen it all.

No one wants to hear it but he's used to a more technical league in the Bundesliga. He cut his teeth those two years at Genoa alongside Criscito and did well enough to warrant a call up at Milan. That was a bit of a wasted season but any defender worth his salt perfects the game in Italy then moves on to bigger and better things.

The EPL is more physical (no problem) and faster (no problem) than the Bundesliga, but no less intense. In the 2016 DFB-Pokal final, he had Lewandowski, Ribery, and Robben in his back pocket. Pity about that missed penalty, but nobody expects a CB to score from the spot.

If he stays healthy and if the rest of the defense improves under Emery, you'll probably see him stay +1 more year.