Craig Burley has been speaking on a recent ESPN FC podcast episode and has been talking about Arsenal’s defence.
Burley did not hold back in his assessment of the options that the Gunners have for centre-backs, but he did have praise for Sokratis Papastathopoulos.
The Greek international has not featured for a single minute in the league since the restart, but it seems as if Burley thinks he is Arsenal’s best defender.
Here is what he had to say on Sokratis:
“I actually think their best natural defender is the guy on the bench in Sokratis, but clearly within that system, it’s more of an issue for Arteta to get him in the side.
“Not saying he’s the greatest player, but I think he’s a more natural defender than any of those three [David Luiz, Shkodran Mustafi or Sead Kolasinac].”
It seems as if Burley feels that Sokratis should be in the Arsenal defence.
Do you want to see Sokratis play in the remaining games?
Yes, he has to be worth a try
No, keep the same defence
TIF Thoughts…
On Sunday, in Arsenal’s 2-1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur Mustafi recorded a solid 7.27/10 rating, Luiz recorded a more average 6.14, and Kolasinac achieved a dismal 5.52 rating for his display.
The first goal scored by Spurs was gift-wrapped by the Gunners as Kolasinac played a horrible pass back to Luiz that turned into a perfect ball for Heung-min Son, who chipped the ball over Emiliano Martinez.
It was a calamity at the back, and you can understand why Burley wants to see Sokratis in the side, though he has only averaged a 6.82 rating this season in the league, so he might not be the long-term solution, but he might be worth a try for the final three league games.