Sports
Sokratis Papastathopoulous promises to bring back old-school, hard-as-nails defending at Arsenal
Sokratis Papastathopoulous has promised to bring back some old-school, hard-as-nails defending to Arsenal.
Which will be music to the ears of the Gunners fans who have grown frustrated at their side’s flakiness at the back in recent years.
Last season, they shipped 51 goals — 24 more than Premier League champions Manchester City, 12 more than seventh-placed Burnley and four more even than Newcastle, who finished 12th.
In all competitions they conceded a whopping 76 times.
Sokratis knows that has to change if his new side are to stand any chance of a top-four finish this season.
And the former Borussia Dortmund star, who cost £17.6million, hopes the Spartan spirit he’ll bring will help them shore things up.
The 30-year-old, who is also known as Papa to his team-mates, said: “I am here to show I am first a defender and after that comes everything else.
“Of course you have to know how to play with the ball, in the last five or six years football has changed a lot.
“A lot of coaches and a lot of teams now look at only how to play, not how to defend.
“But with the new coach we work also on the situations when we don’t have the ball and this is very important.
“On the first day, the coach worked on this.
“With him, all the players work on tactics, we look a lot at videos, what was wrong, what we have to do better.
“I think and hope this year things at the back will be much better.”
Sokratis cut his teeth at AEK Athens before moving to Genoa then AC Milan.
Paolo Maldini was the defender he most looked up to in his early days in Italy, although he’d left the San Siro by the time Sokratis arrived.
Still, Alessandro Nesta and Thiago Silva were there to teach him well.
Sokratis added: “My first step was in Italy and Maldini was a great player.
“I played with Nesta, that was one big school for me.
“Also with Thiago Silva, great players to learn from — they were defenders who were defenders first.
“I learned a lot and now I am ready to give what I know.”
Arsenal were reluctant to sign or hand new long-term deals to players over 30 during Arsene Wenger’s time at the club but Sokratis insists he is in his prime.
He said: “Thirty is the best age for a defender, so for the next three or four years I would like to give everything for the team.
“With Borussia, with Milan, with Genoa, for 10 years now I have been outside Greece and I have experience.
“I feel very good and I’m working on the pitch and also off the pitch to help all the young guys to be very good with us.”
It was at Dortmund that Sokratis played under Jurgen Klopp and with Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
He added: “Klopp was a very good coach.
“Out on the pitch his mentality is to win, off it he was very friendly with the players and I’m very happy I had two years with him.
“Auba and Mikki were very important in me joining Arsenal.
“It is like something more than friends.
“We were together in Borussia and they are both very good players.
“They were a good part of my decision to come here.”
Real Madrid produced a spectacular comeback against Bayern Munich to reach the Champions League final with Joselu striking twice late on, earning them a 2-1 win on Wednesday to progress 4-3 on aggregate.
Alphonso Davies smashed the visiting German giants ahead in the second half but record 14-time winners Madrid produced a sensational comeback with Joselu netting in the 88th and 91st minutes.
Bayern Munich’s Canadian midfielder #19 Alphonso Davies scores his team’s first goal in spite of Real Madrid’s Ukrainian goalkeeper #13 Andriy Lunin during the UEFA Champions League semi final second leg football match between Real Madrid CF and FC Bayern Munich at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid on May 8, 2024. (Photo by OSCAR DEL POZO / AFP)
Spanish champions Real Madrid face another German side, Borussia Dortmund, in the Wembley final on June 1, after they stunned the team they call their “black beast”.
Squad player Joselu, on as a late substitute, wrote his name in Madrid’s history books with his last-gasp brace.
Bayern Munich’s English forward #09 Harry Kane reacts to their defeat after the UEFA Champions League semi final second leg football match between Real Madrid CF and FC Bayern Munich at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid on May 8, 2024. (Photo by JAVIER SORIANO / AFP)
“There have been a lot of times we have looked dead and buried, but we have that mentality of never say die,” said Real midfielder Jude Bellingham.
“Joselu deserves it all, he has been an amazing squad member this season.”
Madrid had enjoyed the better of the match but it seemed Davies’ superb strike had set up a repeat of the 2013 all-German final in London.
Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel made three changes from the first leg, benching veteran Thomas Mueller and Leon Goretzka.
Dani Carvajal started for Madrid after missing the first leg suspended and was heavily involved as the hosts dominated the opening stages.
Real Madrid players celebrate their second goal scored by Real Madrid’s Spanish forward #14 Joselu during the UEFA Champions League semi final second leg football match between Real Madrid CF and FC Bayern Munich at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid on May 8, 2024. (Photo by JAVIER SORIANO / AFP)
Rodrygo Goes was inches away from converting Carvajal’s low cross and the Spain defender then cleverly set up Vinicius Junior with a pass nutmegging a defender, and Manuel Neuer tipped the Brazilian’s shot against the post.
The rebound fell to Rodrygo but his effort was weak and with a desperate arm Neuer was able to claw it out to complete a fine double save.
Bayern’s Serge Gnabry limped off injured with Davies replacing him before Harry Kane’s first flash of danger.
Madrid goalkeeper Andriy Lunin was alert to push the England captain’s vicious long-range volley around the post.
Neuer palmed away a Vinicius free-kick as the teams ended a high-intensity, relentlessly frantic first half level.
The second period was just as fraught, with Davies’ cross deflecting onto the roof of Lunin’s goal.
Vinicius was unplayable down Madrid’s left and Rodrygo prodded his low cross agonisingly wide of the far post.
The 38-year-old Neuer made superb saves to deny both Brazilian forwards again before the hour mark as Madrid controlled the game and ratcheted up the pressure.
However just as in Munich, when Los Blancos were at their strongest, Bayern pounced.
Kane fed Davies and the Canada international cut inside from the left and smashed a shot beyond Lunin into the far top corner after 68 minutes.
Madrid thought they had levelled moments later through Nacho but after a VAR review the strike was ruled out as the defender had grabbed Joshua Kimmich’s face before shooting.
Tuchel took off Kane in the final stages to try and hold on to victory but it slipped through his fingers as Madrid produced more indelible European memories.
Neuer, who had been sublime to this point, fumbled what appeared a simple Vinicius strike and Joselu gratefully bundled home from close range.
With Bayern reeling Madrid struck again, decisively. It was Joselu once more, the striker on loan from second division side Espanyol, turning home after Antonio Rudiger cut the ball back to him.
The goal was ruled offside but officials overturned the decision after review, and after nearly 15 minutes of stoppage time, Madrid earned the chance to go for their 15th Champions League trophy.
-
Metro5 days agoPhotos: Tragic Accident Claims Two Lives in Ogbomoso
-
Crime & Court1 week ago
EFCC nets 64 suspected internet fraudsters in Osun raid {Photos}
-
News7 days ago
EFCC calls on banks’ compliance officers to uphold confidentiality
-
News1 week ago
Nigerian Journalist Ojukwu Freed After 10 Days in Police Custody
