Arsenal made a massive £21m mistake and West Ham could exploit it

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Arsenal seem have a habit of selling the players they should keep and keeping the players they should sell. 

A case in point; Calum Chambers will be available for as little as £5 million in January with his contract expiring next summer.

The long-serving benchwarmer has made just one Premier League experience since that chastening opening-day defeat at Brentford in August.  

But while Chambers wastes away on the sidelines, his price-tag dwindling with each passing day, Konstantinos Mavropanos’ career is heading rapidly in the other direction.

So much so that, according to BILD, VFB Stuttgart could trigger the £2.5 million option-to-buy clause in his contract before selling the Greece international on for a substantial profit.  

Newcastle United, West Ham and Borussia Dortmund are interested. And, if reports are to be believed, they will have to part with a fee in the region of £21 million. 

Will Arsenal regret letting Mavropanos go?

Sven ‘Diamond Eye’ Mislintat has done it again, it seems.

One of the most respected talent spotters in the European game was the mastermind behind the deal which saw a teenage Mavropanos join Arsenal from Greek side PAS Giannina for just £1.8 million four years ago. 

And, after leaving the Emirates for the Mercedes Benz Arena, he made sure to take Mavropanos with him. 

“You saw a lot of potential at Dinos Mavropanos when he was still playing in Greece,” Mislintat told Heidenheimer Zeitung recently.

The 24-year-old has blossomed in Germany, scoring five times in 15 games and striding out from the back like Ben White after six litres of Red Bull.

“His speed, his aggressiveness, his heading – he brings a lot with him to become a top-level central defender,” Mislintat adds.

“He is still young enough to develop further. He also has the appropriate attitude.

“The only thing missing is that he consistently calls up the strong performances that he recently showed.” 

Who will buy the Arsenal man?

There’s a nagging feeling in the back of some Arsenal minds that Mislintat should have been given more time and freedom to work his magic at the Emirates.

Taking Mavropanos to Stuttgart for £2.5 million – and then selling him on for nearly £20 million – is proof that ol’ ‘Diamond Eye’ still knows a gem when he sees one.