Wenger lays out plan for new Arsenal recruit Konstantinos Mavropanos
Arsene Wenger admits new signing Konstantinos Mavropanos is not yet ready for first-team football at Arsenal.
Arsenal officially confirmed the signing of the young centre-back from the Greek Super League last night with the fee believed to be in the region of £2.2million.
But the 20-year-old is unlikely to play for the Gunners this season and he will be loaned out to gain experience.
“He is with us. The plan is for him to go on loan. I prefer him to play at the top level and gain experience. He is 20 years old and is not ready to start for us,” said Wenger on Friday.
A loan move to Bundesliga side Werder Bremen appears imminent for the defender, who has scored three goals to help his side to 10th in the Greek first division.
A statement on Arsenal.com read: “Young Greek defender Konstantinos Mavropanos has signed for us.
“The 20 year-old centre-back arrives from PAS Giannina, where he has made 16 Greek Super League appearances since breaking into the first team last season.
“We’d like to welcome Konstantinos to the club and wish him well for the future.”