It is no secret that Arsenal are in the market for a center back since the beginning of the transfer window. And one of the players that has been chosen by the club and Sven Mislintat, in particular, is Sokratis from Borussia Dortmund.
Fans will be happy to know that he rejected offers from other clubs including Manchester United to join Arsenal. Speaking to Tuttomercatoweb, his father said:
“There was interest from United but he would have to wait for July, even if the two clubs (United and Borussia Dortmund) have excellent relations,” Papastathopoulos senior said.
“He chose to go to Arsenal instead.”
One of the main reasons for this would be the opportunity to join his former teammates Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. It is always nice to see players rejecting other teams to join a club so, Arsenal and their fans will be happy with the decision that Sokratis has made.
The center back has spent many successful seasons in Dortmund where he has gone on to establish himself as the leader of their defense. Sokratis will add an element of steel to an Arsenal defense that has often lacked some toughness.
Though the deal for Sokratis has not yet been made official, as far as all reliable sources are concerned, the deal is done and the announcement will be made on the 1st of July. This is due to the way in which the financial year in Germany operates.
Arsenal’s defense has needed some restructuring to be done this season after the retirement of Per Mertesacker. This along with the injury problems of Laurent Koscielny have made Arsenal a little light in terms of experience and the signing of Sokratis will go some way in solving that problem.
Once the deal is announced officially, it will put the fears of Arsenal at rest as they can be confident that the defense is in safe hands. It is exciting to see the way in which Sokratis is going to be used by new manager Unai Emery.
