Arsene Wenger makes U-turn over Konstantinos Mavropanos loan plan

Konstantinos Mavropanos has made such an impression since joining Arsenal that Arsene Wenger has decided to keep him at the club.

The Greek defender was signed from PAS Giannina earlier this month for around £1.8million.

Wenger said upon the 20-year-old’s arrival that he would be loaned out for the remainder of the season.

‘He’s not ready to play for us. We’ll give him out on loan,’ said the Arsenal manager.

But Wenger appears to have had a change of heart.

‘He looked comfortable technically, he looks very mobile as a defender and he looks very pacy and strong in all aspects of defending,’ said the Arsenal manager of a player who made just 16 appearances in the Greek Super League before his move.

‘What I don’t know yet is how well he’ll cope with pressure, how much his lack of experience will be detrimental to his performances.

‘When you go to a big club, every game and every mistake is analysed. Every action you take in the game is analysed, so you’re under scrutiny and that puts a huge pressure on you. If you make a mistake in a smaller league for a smaller club, it’s less of a story than it would be at a big club.

‘We will see [how he copes with that] that in the games and I haven’t seen him play in England against an English team yet. I have to see that. Personally, I am encouraged by what I’ve seen and I’ve decided to keep him until May.’

Mavropanos is Arsenal’s only signing of the January window so far, but with Alexis Sanchez expected to leave the Emirates imminently, more arrivals are expected.

Borussia Dortmund striker Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang and Bordeux forward Malcom are the favourites to arrive.

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