With Arsene Wenger stepping down this summer, Sven Mislintat’s influence at Arsenal looks set to increase over the next few months. We don’t know who will be tasked with replacing the Frenchman after 22 years in north London, but we do know that the longevity of Wenger’s reign created an unhealthy imbalance of power which any successor will struggle to fill single-handed.
Accordingly then, it appears the former Dortmund man will shoulder some of that responsibility himself in the post-Wenger era at Arsenal, particularly in the transfer market, after being appointed Head of Recruitment in November.
And the early signs are certainly encouraging. In addition to two Dortmund old boys being lured to the Emirates Stadium in January, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Mislintat’s first official Gunners acquisition provided the shiniest of silver linings from Arsenal’s 2-1 defeat to Manchester United in the Premier League on Sunday.
Europa League obligations, with Thursday’s trip to Atletico Madrid on the horizon, saw Wenger field a substantially weakened starting line-up at Old Trafford and 20-year-old Konstantinos Mavropanos was one of the youngsters who stepped up to the challenge upon his Premier League debut.
It was by no means a perfect performance from the promising defender, evident enough from the fact United scored twice. But the Greek centre-back’s incredible composure and physicality for such a young player really stood out, handling himself well against one of the most expensively assembled attacking casts in Europe – going shoulder-to-shoulder with Romelu Lukaku before the Belgian was forced off through injury, keeping replacement Marcus Rashford quiet and helping limit the impact of Alexis Sanchez and Jesse Lingard from out wide.
Come the final whistle, Mavropanos had made the joint-most interceptions and blocks of any Arsenal player, while he showed a cool head on the ball as well – completing 92% of his passes. Gunners legend Ian Wright was so impressed by the 6 foot 4 defender’s performance that he’s even called for him to start against Atletico on Thursday night, when Arsenal will need to score to give themselves a chance of progressing to the Europa League final.
“He was Sven Mislintat’s first signing and was someone he didn’t know too much about. But I haven’t seen a performance like this, the anticipation, the pace, the awareness, from Arsenal for a long time. For a 20-year-old to come in and be as cool and as calm as he was is so impressive. I don’t think we’ve got anything to lose by playing him. He hasn’t done too badly against Lukaku. You could put him up against Diego Costa, I know he’s a different kind of forward but he looked like he was up for that battle.”
That analysis may be a little presumptuous – Mavropanos impressed on his debut against high-quality opposition, but his ability to perform at that level consistently remains to be seen – yet, the youngster’s performance certainly bodes well for the new era at Arsenal, when Mislintat will have an important say in bringing promising players to the club.
If there’s been one recurring frustration during the final few years of Wenger’s reign, it’s how young players have struggled to progress under his guidance – perhaps because they’re the wrong young players, perhaps because Wenger has failed to develop them.
Mavropanos’ performance though, suggests Mislintat has the eye for a player that once made Wenger one of the best managers in the world, and that willingness to give chances to young players remains a core aspect of Arsenal’s DNA. Based on Mavropanos’ debut, the 45-year-old’s influence will be huge in rebuilding the north London club in the coming years by acquiring similar shrewd young talents.
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