Arsenal: Sokratis delay proves desire

Arsenal’s move for Sokratis has been a month in the making. The delay in completing the transfer, however, proves the desire of the club to sign the player.

Changing your mind is natural. It happens all the time. I used to think that Kieran Gibbs would be a world-class left-back one day. I certainly don’t believe that anymore. I changed my mind. And Arsenal, like any organisation that has to make frequent and significant decisions, will have got them wrong and had to change their minds.

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Time is often the great opportunity for change. The longer we have to think about something, the more likely we are to change our minds. Or become more certain that the decision we are making is the right one. It’s just human nature.

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And so, in waiting more than a month to secure a deal for Borussia Dortmund defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Arsenal have had the perfect opportunity to change their minds. Certainly, if they wanted to pull out of the deal, then they have had plenty of opportunity to do so. But they haven’t. A month later, the deal is still on, with Sokratis reportedly arriving in London on Monday to complete the final judiciaries that always come with a high-profile transfer.

The delay, which is reportedly due to Dortmund’s desire to have the transfer count against the next financial year which begins on July 1st, therefore, proves the desire of the club to ensure that the deal is completed. What is absolutely clear is that Sven Mislintat, Unai Emery, Ivan Gazidis and all involved with the decision wanted this deal to go through unwaveringly. Everyone, to a varying extent, is on board. Had they not been, it wouldn’t be happening.

And so, while I myself have some major concerns regarding the move, stemming from Sokratis’ age to his deteriorating performance last season, the club does not share the same worries, or at least is able to see past them in favour of another attribute or asset that he brings.

There are others that share my concerns. Rapha Honingstein, a well-renowned German football expert, questioned whether Sokratis would actually improve the Gunners defence, commenting that while Sokratis brings warrior-like qualities that are needed at the Emirates, he has made many mistakes that do not look to be going away.

Additionally, many fans on social media, both Henry and Josh on the podcast, and other pundits in the media have cast doubts over the quality of Sokratis. He may be experienced. He may be cheap. But is he actually good enough? That is the question that myself and many others are currently asking.

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But Arsenal seem happy to say that he is. They had every chance to pull out of this deal. They had a whole month to stew on the decision. They didn’t change their minds. They hardly wavered. And that is some comfort.