Arsenal: Hopefully, Konstantinos Mavropanos does this the easy way

Arsenal fans were rightfully smitten with Konstantinos Mavropanos initial foray into the first team, but now comes the true test. Let’s make it easy, okay?

There were a lot of reasons for Arsenal and their fans to be smitten by young Greek defender Konstantinos Mavropanos. He played a rough type of game that involved haphazardly steamrolling people, just because.

I don’t know if this is just who he is, or if he did it because the fans loved it, but whatever the case, we want more of it. He was physically dominant and that is something else that this defense has been lacking.

But the main reason why he so quickly endeared himself to fans was because of how bad the defense had been all year. He was a savior figure. If you have a solid defense all year, Mavropanos isn’t celebrated so much for making simple tackles.

This is such a small sample size though, and it ended with a horrible giveaway and a subsequent red card. I won’t sound the alarms over that, because it’s all part of the learning process, but I will caution that Mavropanos isn’t in the clear yet. But you knew that.

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The next step is either going to be made with relative ease, or it is going to be a long, drawn-out process that ideally churns out a mid-20s centerback that is viable for the first team and, preferably, the starting XI.

The easy way is obviously the more desirable way. It entails him learning from his red card, coming back strong, and resuming life right where he left off – in the starting XI.

But as we know, there is no guarantee it works that easy. Rob Holding is the best example. He was on top of the world after the FA Cup Final against Chelsea, but he came out the following season and was incredibly rough around the edges. He had a massive letdown of a season and he is presently taking the dreaded hard way, where he falls to the bottom of the charts and has to fight his way back up.

Mavropanos is still near the top of the charts. He can stay there, on the easy way, so long as he remains a positive presence.

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There is also that chance he takes the Holding way, drops off the face of the earth, and has to fight his way back up. It would make things pretty damn easy if he could just go ahead and make this easy.

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