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Why splashing £17.5m on Sven Mislintat’s former colleague could solve Arsenal’s defensive conundrum

According to reports, Arsenal are lining up a move for Borussia Dortmund defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos, who could cost around £17.5m.

The Greek international is well known to Sven Mislintat, Arsenal’s head of recruitment, as they worked together at Dortmund. Since joining Arsenal, Mislintat has returned to players from his former club, including Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

The Arsenal’s head of recruitment is again interested in raiding his former club and is eyeing a move for centre-back Sokratis Papastathopoulos. But what would the 29-year-old bring to Arsenal?

The Gunners are mightily thin in defence with Laurent Koscielny sidelined for months and Per Mertesacker taking up a coaching role next season.

Shkodran Mustafi has endured a forgettable campaign, while the likes of Calum Chambers, Rob Holding and Konstantinos Mavropanos are all young and in need of time to develop.

This literally makes signing a new defender a priority for Arsenal before the start of next season. Whoever replaces Arsene Wenger would be desperate to reinforce the defence, which has looked hollow and uninspiring for the last few years.

Sokratis Papastathopoulos

The 29-year-old Sokratis has established himself as one of the best centre-backs in the Bundesliga in the last couple of years. Since joining Dortmund, the defender has carved a niche out of himself with his incredible self-belief and never-say-die-attitude.

Since the departure of Mats Hummels to Bayern Munich in 2016, Sokratis has stepped up to become the undisputed general of Dortmund’s defence.

The defender has led the team by example and speaks up when it is most required. He knows when to make his presence felt and when to avoid it, thus building a fine understanding between his players and the managers that have come and left Dortmund.

Sokratis simply loves to defend. He is comfortable playing out from the back and is a decent dribbler of the ball for a rough-tackling defender. The Greek’s passing ability is his standout attribute that makes him an excellent all-round defensive rock. He hardly ever puts a foot wrong, marshalling his troops at Dortmund astutely.

The 29-year-old is a born leader and would add a lot of steel and aggression to the Arsenal backline. He may be coming to the end of his peak but is a natural leader the Gunners are sorely lacking in their ranks.

With a substantial amount of European football under his belt, Sokratis falls in the bracket of a Premier League archetype defender. In every case, the Greek’s capture would be a fantastic piece of business for the Gunners.