Arsenal need a big summer shake up with the Premier League underachievers potentially set to lose Sokratis Papastathopoulos to the Bundesliga or MLS.
Sokratis Papastathopoulos could be entering his final few months as an Arsenal player with Greek publication Sportime suggesting that a return to Germany or a move to MLS is on the cards this summer.
A former AC Milan and Borussia Dortmund centre-back has been a reliable presence at the back since Mikel Arteta took over at the Emirates, filling in effectively of late in an unfamiliar right-back role due to Hector Bellerin’s ongoing injury problems.
But Sokratis is still being linked with a move away from North London after telling the Mail in no uncertain terms that he would have no problem with turning his back on the Gunners if he was no longer a regular starter under an ex-Manchester City coach.
As it stands, it seems that David Luiz, Shkodran Mustafi and January signing Pablo Mari are Arteta’s favoured options at centre-half – and that is without mentioning Rob Holding, Callum Chambers and William Saliba.
The £18 million Sokratis has just over 12 months left on his contract and Sportime suggest that a man who spent seven years in the Bundesliga with Dortmund and Werder Bremen could be offered a return to Germany. A move to MLS or even Saudi Arabia is also on the cards for a man who will turn 32 in June.
Once Saliba, Holding and Chambers return to contention, Sokratis may find himself well down the pecking order at Arsenal. So it seems that a parting of the ways could be for the best.
‘For certain games, he is very helpful and he always has the right attitude and he has the qualities to play there in essential moments when we need him,” Arteta told the Metro recently after Sokratis scored in a 2-0 FA Cup victory over Portsmouth.
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