Arsenal Vs Boreham Wood: The one good thing Sokratis did show

Sokratis Papastathopoulos endured a difficult first appearance in an Arsenal shirt against Boreham Wood on Saturday. There was one good thing he showed, however: organisation.

Arsenal started their preseason activities at the weekend with the annual trip to local London team Boreham Wood. The comfortable 8-0 win was more about getting some game time in the legs than it was the result or performance. Much of the preseason is about that, really. But there was one individual who was placed particularly closely under the microscope.

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Sokratis Papastathapoulos made his first appearance in an Arsenal shirt since his £17 million transfer earlier in the summer. Granted, this was not a competitive match and the disparity in quality of the two sides means that any meaningful conclusions are difficult to draw, but Sokratis was still the one that many were watching the closest.

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Unfortunate, then, that Sokratis did not look his best. Loose and lapse on a number of occasions, he shanked several clearances, he gave possession away cheaply, he dived in rashly to two or three challenges, and was outpaced on at least one occasion. It was not the defensively secure, stable and solid performance that many had been expecting from such an experienced centre-back, especially considering the opposition.

The signs were concerning. I have written about as much, while also conceding that they are not fatal to his time in north London. And they should not be overlooked. But there was one key positive element to his performance that I would like to highlight, at least in some form of balance for the criticism that he has received in the aftermath of the weekend.

Sokratis’ individual may have been lacking somewhat, but, alongside fellow Greek defender Konstantinos Mavropanos, he was consistently communicating with and instructing those around him, clearly trying to instill an element of structure to the defence and midfield when they did not have the ball.

Unlike when attacking, defending is much more about the collective. While moments of individual brilliance can create and score goals, defending is a team responsibility. It requires the commitment and execution of every single individual, all working in tandem with one another to form a stronger collective unit.

That is something that Arsenal have lacked in recent seasons, in large part due to the absence of an organiser. What made Tony Adams such a brilliant defender was not just his individual quality. It was his barked instructions, his understanding of the game, relaying that to each and every player around him, his organisational and leadership qualities as captain at the heart of the defence.

Next: Arsenal Vs Boreham Wood: 3 players who impressed

Sokratis certainly did not look like the best defender on Saturday. But he did show leadership, organisation and communication. That should not be overlooked.