Sokratis Papastathopoulos

[Phil71]

He was a bag of nerves for the whole game.

[Sims]

I think he might be our worst CB

[Rockape]

I didn't watch the game and didn't want to watch it on catch up either....sounded far too depressing! But just wondering if we've now lined up Sokratis as the next to get it in the neck? I've never been convinced by him, thought Mustafi was better, but obviously without the brain farts....but he seemed a reliable 7/10 defender.

So he's got to go as well now......do we have anyone left?

[Phil71]

Is it the defenders or is it the way they are being told to play?

I can't believe the average defender would f*** around with the ball as much as ours do if they were given the choice.

[Est83]

That dude who threw away his season ticket on AFTV after the game, made a good point about Sokratis' ability to play out from the back. If he's not that man, if he can't do that (one of the few things Luiz is actually good at) then he's always gonna look shit.

Goes for the whole defence, and the knock on effect that has on the team, all the way to the front. Strikers are nervous and can't keep the ball because they know if they lose it, that ball is gonna get ran straight through our midfield, because the midfield are also a bag of nerves knowing how shit our defence is. With the defence as shit as it is, the midfield stretched because the defenders are deep and trying to tika taka their way out of their own box, there's just no cohesion, no confidence, no transition, no possession.

Nothing wrong with playing out from the back, every club does it. Wenger wanted everyone playing sexy football, lots over overlapping, being interchangeable etc. That's all fine. But when you've clearly been asked to do it every single time, when it just doesn't suit anyone (bar Luiz), then what the f**k's gonna happen?

Playing out from the back should be an option, not a default tactic.

[Santi]

Sokratis getting a lot of shit for the weekend but was actually Leno who kept putting him in trouble instead of clearing it. It’s not even a case of whether sokratis can play out (we know he can’t hes an old school Greek bruiser ffs) but Leno was giving him the ball at our own corner flag when a saints player was already close by...pure dumb.

Wasn’t his worst game on Saturday that’s for sure, 1 shaky moment I think he caused himself, the rest were on Leno for me.

[StLGooner]

That dude who threw away his season ticket on AFTV after the game, made a good point about Sokratis' ability to play out from the back. If he's not that man, if he can't do that (one of the few things Luiz is actually good at) then he's always gonna look shit.

Goes for the whole defence, and the knock on effect that has on the team, all the way to the front. Strikers are nervous and can't keep the ball because they know if they lose it, that ball is gonna get ran straight through our midfield, because the midfield are also a bag of nerves knowing how shit our defence is. With the defence as shit as it is, the midfield stretched because the defenders are deep and trying to tika taka their way out of their own box, there's just no cohesion, no confidence, no transition, no possession.

Nothing wrong with playing out from the back, every club does it. Wenger wanted everyone playing sexy football, lots over overlapping, being interchangeable etc. That's all fine. But when you've clearly been asked to do it every single time, when it just doesn't suit anyone (bar Luiz), then what the f**k's gonna happen?

Playing out from the back should be an option, not a default tactic.

Excellent points about the mind set of our squad and how/why they're playing the way they are.

[Rerktyne]

This man is perfect for Arsenal: he contains a plethora of retard-qualities when on the ball, frequently passing to the other side. He also gives away too many dangerous free kicks. Otherwise he at least manages some good defensive headers. He is clearly another example of a "B" player that Arsenal recruit for their "B" class defence. Fits in perfectly along with Chambers, Mustafi, Luiz etc!
In front of them we have Granit-thickhead and Sideshow Bob and little Torreira all of whom are there to let the counter attacks flow through and give poor old Leno a hard time.
Soon Leno will be the best goalie ever - given all the practice he gets!
Perhaps Sok' will do better when we have gone down a division.

[Highbury Hillbilly]

I don't want to dismiss his contributions for us last season. For the most part, he was a steady hand considering he was played next to Mustafi.

This season though he's fallen apart entirely. Maybe it's because he's paired with an erratic CB like Luiz who tends to point fingers at others when things go wrong. But IMO he's done here. Must be sold next season.

[Nuggets]

In a word...........shite.

[theHotHead]

Its amazing our best CB last season and one of the worst this season. HOWEVER - I think it is simply down to the tactics and system the players are being asked to play, you don't turn shit overnight.

[Losmeister]

In a word...........shite.

brevity is the soul of wit

[Arsenal Tone]

f***ing love him. Reminds me of Keown.

[Sims]

[Zenith]