Sokratis should be a fighter, not a quitter

Sokratis Papastathopoulos should be fighting, not quitting!

I don’t know if Sokratis was quoted out of contest or he was quoted rightly, but reading what he said about quitting Arsenal if he doesn’t get more playing time, is saddening. Why am I sad? Because as a professional, he should be talking about fighting to earn his spot, and not telling the club he would leave, if not given more playing opportunity.

Footballers are very special people; they earn so much money for doing what they enjoy doing. A player is expensive and he knows this. An average player wants the club he is signed up to, to appreciate him and show him how useful he is to the team. However, just like in life, football can’t always guarantee players of regular playing time; they need the players to fight for their spot and show them reasons why they should be playing them regularly. Sokratis may not be happy with the way Arteta is managing Arsenal, but his job as a footballer is to stay and fight for his position and give Arteta reasons to make use of him, and not asking to be played or he would leave.

According to online sources, Sokratis said he may have to reconsider his contract, if by the end of the season he realized he has not played as much as he would have loved to. Under Emery, Sokratis was almost a regular member of the first eleven. He brought a little bit of rigidity and steel to the defence then. He is a fighter that doesn’t shy away from challenges and is not scared to commit a foul, if it will mean him stopping an opposing player from scoring or creating scoring opportunities. However, under Arteta, he has found himself out of the starting line up on quite a few occasions and it is understandable that he spoke out. But asking to leave if things don’t favour him is the language of a player who feels he must always be involved in every game for the club.

Sokratis is a defender I have always liked and I have always asked to be played; but when the manager decides not to make use of him in a particular game or match, I just have to relax and support the manager. I won’t be one to question a manager’s choice of player because it is obvious he must have thought and pondered over his list of players before releasing it. Sokratis has every right to ask to be played more often, but he should do his campaign more on the training pitch than in the press. We are Arsenal and we are proud.

Sylvester Kwentua

8 Comments

  1. Absolutely correct Sylvester and this is what I was saying when the original post about his “statement” came out.

    What happened??? Somehow or another, it turned on what Ozil earns and why he hasn’t had the same commitment to leaving the club when UE dropped, selected, dropped, selected, dropped, selected him!!!

    This is a player on a reported £90,000 a week, bleating because he doesn’t get game time – if every player did the same. we would have anarchy.

    I’d rather see those players who are dropped, such as AMN, get on with their game and show what they are made of during the training session.

    After all, what are these sessions for, if not to impress the coach with their attitude, fitness and desire to be selected?

    Someone said that they don’t put any store into how good a player looks during these sessions, but what else does MA have to go on?
    It was also muted that MA is only being harsh on the younger players, like AMN and Guendozi, but Soks is a seasoned professional – if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen!!!

    SUE – yet another calamity by Dean of course…the only one in the ground who didn’t see it as a reckless challenge as usual…not a word about his awful performance either anywhere in the media.
    Hope you are a quick healer Lucas, another example for Sokratis to follow!!!

    1. Exactly, Ken…that’s because it’s probably brushed under the carpet with all the others!! Just amazes me how that goes unpunished, yet Guendouzi gets a yellow for the way he placed the ball!! Wow, just wow…… watch him screw up the Manchester derby on Sunday……

  2. Who cares??

    He isn’t good enough that’s why he’s on the bench, i’ll help him with his bags in the summer window

  3. I would not be sad to see him leave as he lacks a number of the attributes needed in a centre back.Another error of judgement by our recruitment team I’m afraid.

  4. Bit of a quandary this one.

    I found his comments quite open, and refreshing in a way. I do think however, the timing could have been better.

    Let’s face it, and he must suspect the worst, Papa is not going to survive the rebuilding of the team – particularly the defence.

    So he has stated that rather than hang around becoming a bit part player and simply picking up the money, he will look to go (which I think will be the case anyway).

    No pro’ worth their salt should be content with being a bench warmer, in the full knowledge they are not going to figure in the managers plans going forward.

    For me whilst accepting Papa’s limitations as a player, I like his wholehearted approach and 100% commitment to the cause (since he’s been here).

    Going forward the guy just seems to be being honest come seasons end. Better than hanging around, and letting your contract run down surely.

    Benefit of the doubt goes to Sokratis for me.

    P.S.
    Only at Arsenal would he find himself playing as an orthodox right back – has he moaned and bitched about it, not that I know of.

  5. Totally irrelevant what he thinks. All that matters is that he is clearly not remotely even near the stabdard we need and it is obvious , at least to me, that he will not be here next season. And hurray for that!

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