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Arsenal are rumored to be interested in Sokratis
The days of seeing Sokratis in a Dortmund shirt could be coming to a close. With contract talks between the Greek defender and Borussia Dortmund stalling, and his future hanging in the balance, Arsenal have emerged as a club rumored to be interested in his services. Arsenal are looking to bolster their backline, and an experienced player like Sokratis would be a big addition for the English club.
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Sokratis very well could be on his way to joining former teammates Aubameyang and Mkhitaryan in North London. You can’t ignore the fact that the former director scouting at Dortmund, Sven Mislintat, is now the head scout at Arsenal. He seems to have a fancy for some of the elite talent that he brought to Dortmund, and his influence can’t be ignored in this potential deal. With the departure of Arsène Wenger, Arsenal will be looking to make changes to their squad to give whoever is to become the new manager some fresh options to work with.
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It is important to note that Sokratis is coming off an underwhelming season for Dortmund by his usual high standards. The anchor of Dortmund’s defense was the subject of much criticism for many of his performances this past season. Both Dortmund and Sokratis could be looking split for their own best interests, and it seems as if something fresh could benefit both parties involved. At times this season, he fell out of favor with Peter Stöger, who would sometimes select Manuel Akanji and Ömer Toprak as his center back pairing.
Caglar Soyuncu is too expensive for Arsenal, who see Sokratis as a more viable option, according to the Daily Mail. #SCF #AFC #BVB
— Ronan Murphy (@swearimnotpaul) May 16, 2018
Sokratis is 29, and could see this as the best opportunity in his career to make a move to the Premier League. The rumored fee is around $23M, which would be a bargain by Premier League standards these days. We’ll keep an eye on this situation as it develops. It could go either way, but Papastathopoulos could very well be on his way to London. Whatever happens, his legacy at Dortmund will always be viewed in a positive way, after serving the club so well.