The Athletic reporter David Ornstein has revealed that Sokratis Papastathopoulos is likely to remain with Arsenal for the final year of his contract. The Greece international was a regular starter for the Gunners under former boss Unai Emery, but he has not enjoyed a similar role with Mikel Arteta at the helm.

In fact, he has managed just one minute of first-team football after the coronavirus shutdown last month and it is quite clear that Arteta does not fancy him. Despite this, it appears that the former AEK Athens graduate has no plans of parting ways with the north London giants this summer, considering none of the interested sides are likely to meet his wage demands.
Continue reading David Ornstein updates on Papastathopoulos’ transfer stance at Arsenal

 

AEK Athens are reportedly interested in the possibility of signing Karim Hafez if the player is available. Karim Hafez is an Egyptian left back who is currently part of theWadiDegla setup even if he has been playing on loan at various clubs over the last few years. After coming through the ranks atLierse in the 2014 season, Hafez has gained a reputation for being journeymen. Despite being only 24 years old, he has already represented seven clubs in his career. However, the potential within the youngster is still quite remarkable and it earned him a place in the preliminary squad for the World Cup 2018 in Russia. He has featured in seven games for the Egyptian national team since his debut in 2015.

The 24-year-old has played in a number of leagues that make himquite experienced at handling the Greek Super League where AEK Athens have been finding it hard to make a major impact in recent years. The team are third in the championship with a few points separating them from second placed PAOK. The club need a major run of results in order to qualify for the Champions League next season. The second place team in the Greek Super League will be gaining eligibility for the third qualifying round of the Champions League. One of the few successes for AEK Athens has come in the Greek Cup finalwith the team taking on Olympiakos.
Continue reading AEK Athens interested in journeymen Karim Hafez

Greek defender Panos Retsos has said that he would like to remain with Sheffield United next term despite his failure to break into Chris Wilder’s side. The 21-year-old made the short-term loan move to the Blades from Bayer Leverkusen in January but he has since made just one appearance for the club.

That came in a winning cause during the FA Cup fifth round win over Reading and he is hopeful of extending his temporary stint beyond the summer, he told: “Yes, I would like to continue in England and Sheffield because he believes in me a lot. He has plan for me and it’s important to get games in my feet and get even better that I was.”
Continue reading Panos Retsos keen on staying with Sheffield United next term

Arsenal defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos has said that the Gunners have become better with their defensive displays under the guidance of Mikel Arteta. The north London side have remained unbeaten since the turn of the year and much of that has been contributed by the improved displays in the backline.

Of course, they have had the tendency to draw most of their games but Sokratis feels the team are on the up with Arteta at the helm, the former AEK Athens mansaid: “When all the players defend, the defence is better. It’s not down to four or five of us – it’s down to the whole team and now we do that a lot better. We’re not allowing opponents to have a lot of shots like we were earlier in the season and much of this is down to the work of the manager. From his first day, he spoke to us about what we had to do better. There is still a lot of room for improvement but every week we look to take another step forward.”
Continue reading Papastathopoulos says Arsenal have become better defensively under Arteta

Arsenal defender Konstantinos Mavropanos could reportedly be heading for a loan departure from the Emirates Stadium, having struggled for gametime with the club. The Greek defender was promising with his displays during the closing stages of Arsene Wenger’s tenure but he has since struggled for playing time with a number of injuries along the way.

Mavropanos has made just a couple of appearances for the Gunners this term but his prospects of securing a regular berth appear slim with new manager Mikel Arteta looking at the possibility of adding another centre-back in the ranks rather than banking on the options at hand. As a result, Mavropanos has been touted to head for a fresh challenge for a while and reports in England claims that he could join either Nottingham Forest or Olympiakos in the New Year.

Continue reading Arsenal defender attracting interest from Olympiakos