Arsenal and central defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos have agreed to part ways by mutual consent- terminating his contract. The news leaves the Greek defender with the chance to join another club as a free agent this month or in other transfer windows to come.
Sokratis joins Mesut Ozil as the latest departure from the club despite signing for £17.6 million from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2018. Just over two years on from his arrival, the defender leaves having failed to live up to expectations, however.
Sokratis Agrees Contract Termination With Arsenal
🗞 Working closely with @SokratisPapa5 and his team, we have decided to cancel his contract by mutual consent
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) January 20, 2021
Freeing up Room on the Wage Bill
Following the departure of Mesut Ozil, who was the highest-paid player at the club, and now Sokratis, Arsenal and Mikel Arteta should finally have some funds to utilise in improving the current side.
Recent performances have been promising, and this is only the beginning of what will need to be an extensive rebuild. The exit of Ozil, followed by Sokratis, are promising signs that the club is heading in the right direction.
Should they spend the money gained by clearing the wage bill wisely, then Arsenal stand a chance of making Europe once more. Should they continue the trend of disappointing recruitment at the Emirates, however, then a return to the top six is unlikely.
Promising Signs Under Mikel Arteta
Perhaps the secret to Arsenal’s success is through their academy, and not the transfer market- as proven in recent times. Whilst big money signings fail before moving on, academy products are excelling under Arteta.
The likes of Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka have proved pivotal in Arsenal’s recent resurgence- both of whom were involved in goals against Newcastle United on Monday evening as the Gunners secured victory.
So, from an Arsenal point of view, perhaps the focus must be on clearing deadwood such as Sokratis off the wage bill before handing opportunities to the academy to excel.
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