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