Sokratis backs Arsenal youngster to become “much better” than him

Arsenal defender Sokratis has tipped his club teammate and countryman Konstantinos Mavropanos to become the better of the two centre-backs.

Mavropanos, 21, joined Arsenal from Greek club PAS Giannina in January 2018 before Sokratis arrived from Borussia Dortmund last summer.

Is Mavropanos close to playing regularly? Five key things to know…

1. Mavropanos has made just four Premier League appearances for Arsenal, with just one coming this season.
2. That solitary appearance came as a substitute with 11 minutes to go in the recent 3-1 defeat at Manchester City.
3. The Greek missed the majority of the first half of the season with a groin injury.
4. There is a chance he would have featured more regularly in the Europa League group stages had he not been sidelined.
5. Mavropanos will hope he can take the place of one of Arsenal’s current senior centre-backs in the future, all of whom have blown hot and cold this season.

Sokratis has made 85 appearances for the Greece national team and is currently his country’s highest profile international.

Mavropanos is yet to play for the Greek senior team, but Sokratis believes the youngster will eclipse his current level.

“Dinos can become much better than me and it will be bad for him to have Papastathopoulos as a ceiling,” Sokratis told reporters.

“I am telling you that Mavropanos has all the assets to become better than Papastathopoulos.”

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Is Mavropanos the answer to Arsenal’s defensive problems?

Arsenal haven’t kept a single clean sheet away from home in the Premier League this season, even conceding against goal-shy Huddersfield Town last time out.

Part of that has been down to the revolving door of centre-backs; Laurent Koscielny missed the beginning of the season with an achilles problem while Sokratis is currently sidelined with an ankle injury.

The Gunners have conceded 37 league goals this term, more than any other side in the top eight places in the table.

With so little experience, Mavropanos isn’t likely to be called on to solve Arsenal’s defensive issues any time soon.

That said, Unai Emery could give him some valuable game time in the Europa League if the Londoners continue to progress through the competition.

The post Sokratis backs Arsenal youngster to become “much better” than him appeared first on Squawka News.

From Squawka News http://bit.ly/2IkyCMr