Dinos Mavropanos has been out on loan in Germany since January 2019, where he played for Nuremberg in the 2. Bundesliga for half a season before being sent out on a season loan to Stuttgart in the Bundesliga to give him high-quality first-team football in a setup that would work for him. I take a look at different aspects of his game, and whether it bodes well for Arsenal, or if Arsenal should take different steps when he returns in the summer.
Note: All data is taken from fbref.com from 11/03/2021, and I use the Stuttgart vs Schalke 04 match for in-game pictures.
What type of team does currently he play in?
When looking at a centre-back, their stats should not be used in isolation, and the way their team plays should be taken into consideration. This screenshot taken from WhoScored tells us that Stuttgart have to defend a lot (as a result of poor ball retention,) but they like to play out from the back and from the middle, which will make Mavropanos’ defensive numbers good or bad (depending on what you view high-volume defending to be.)
Taken Via Whoscored, Stuttgart’s style of play involves taking a lot of shots, playing short passes, and attacking through the middle. They also add that opponents typically tend to play aggressively against them.
Dinos Mavropanos facing attacking players as often as he does has its advantages, he can get used to fast-paced games where his team won’t be on the front foot, and his positioning has improved a lot to the point where I would trust him to hold his own in a 3 on 1 situation in the Premier League (but it still has room for improvement.) The problem here is that he won’t be suited for Arsenal’s style of play right when he returns. His short/mid-range passing can be wayward and he may have to spend some time learning how to play the way Mikel Arteta wants him to If he does get a pre-season at the club.
Against Schalke, Dinos was tasked with protecting the wide area, with some instances where he drifts centrally if the play is on his teams left side & his aerial prowess being utilized in set pieces/corners. The best way to look at Mavropanos at Stuttgart is to treat him as if he’s a wide defender rather than a centre back, someone doing the duties of a CB but out wide to cover for an explosive winger or wingback which can only happen if the team is a back 3.
Mavropanos’ Positioning:
It’s harder to judge Mavropanos’ positioning in the context of Arsenal as the demands for a right-sided centre-back in a back 4 differ from the demands of a right-sided centre-back in a back 3/5. For example, the coverage area is greater for an RCB in a back 4, they have to cover for the RB if they’re attacking and the DM if they venture forward but the RCB in the back 3 will have to join the midfield line (as the Stuttgart RCB role requires) whilst giving little space to the opposition attackers to take advantage of transitions.
When Stuttgart are settled on the ball, Mavropanos is tasked with covering the right-hand side and track the opposition runner when his team do lose the ball (their poor retention and their shape makes them susceptible to counters.) He holds his shape well, stopping the opposition winger from finding & exploiting space right behind him and putting his team at risk of a counter.
Mavropanos’ problems come when his team is being hit on transition on the opposite side of the pitch, he will allow the opposition LW an extra yard of space that they can exploit instead of keeping close to the last defender and offering as little space as possible for the opposition to exploit.
When there is a goal-kick, Mavropanos is situated as a right-back, rather than as one of the two central defenders next to the goalkeeper. He covers the blindside of his DM/CM well, and his team can get a shot on goal in seconds after they attack them from the left. As Mavropanos can scan effectively & position himself well in comparison to the positions of the opposition players, his transition to a 4 man backline may not be as difficult as it would seem at first glance.
Mavropanos’ defending:
Mavropanos loves to defend, he won’t shy away from tackles & opposition attacks as it’s in his very nature to stop the opposition from scoring against his team, but he does have some glaring issues. He can be caught in the wrong frame of mind for a split second before the opposing attacker charges at him (picture 1), and he can be rash in a time where no action may be needed (picture 2) but that being said, he can rack up blocks, interceptions & clearances to keep the team at ease when there’s sustained opposition pressure.
Mavropanos gets beaten by the Schalke Wideman but he does well to match him for speed to block his ball into the box, which shows the best of both worlds regarding his defending. Dinos can switch off for moments in a game but he can switch back on and match any player for speed over 5-10 yards, but that’s not ideal. For a CB playing in a back 4, they have to be ready to anticipate anything from the opposition or their teammates at any given moment, and as we saw with what happened with Dani Ceballos on Thursday, it is a potential cause for concern.
Just to note, the Ceballos situation is different but the principle is the same, always be aware/alert and don’t let the opposition get past you on the edge of your box.
Mavropanos is a bit rash when he doesn’t need to be, which can disrupt the flow of the game at a time where his team can simply counter the opposing threat. In this instance, he backs off a bit too much and when he tries to recover the ball, he gives away a free kick in a good opportunity, which forces his team to come back to defend the set-piece, but if he left it & allowed the Stuttgart DM to handle it, his team could’ve capitalized on a turnover to create a good chance from the counter.
A defender has to be able to be on the good end of fine margins, and conceding a free kick in an area close to goal gets you on the wrong end of those as we saw with Benfica’s goal In the first leg of the Arsenal tie, which Is why Mavropanos’ rashness works against him here. Dinos also needs to get into space where the attacker might go instead of attempting to block the space the attacker may want to exploit, which outlines another issue of his challenge in the picture and something that most defenders will need to work on fixing.
Mavropanos’ Passing:
Against Schalke, he was generally secure, with his right-hand side passes being the ones where he failed to meet a teammate. I would be concerned with the positioning of where his passes start as none of them were in the areas where a conventional CB would be placed, rather it is in the wide areas and the pressing intensity faced drops in wide areas compared to those in the defender’s box.
His short passes aren’t bad, he’s able to get the ball back to the other defenders and his ball-switching is pinpoint 95% of the time, but when he looks to play it to the central midfielder or into men in the box, he is more likely to fail the ball in than succeed.
He is 2-footed on the ball, and he isn’t afraid to use either foot to get the ball out of a rough situation, something I love to see, especially If he’s being pressed by multiple players, he is quite secure on the ball, as he completes more than 90% of short passes. His passes to central areas need improving, but if he is given a man to get the ball to consistently (Partey, Gabriel, Xhaka, or a new RB) then that will be a non-issue.
How can Arsenal set up with Mavropanos?
Arsenal can look to replicate the Stuttgart setup with Mavropanos playing as a wide defender again, a role that he currently plays. He can defend in a flat 3 as he will receive extra protection from the CM’s or the central defender. The downfall to this is it will sacrifice Arsenal’s creativity to shoehorn a CB into the side just to keep him happy, and 3atb formations as your primary formation won’t work after a set period (Sheffield United 2020/21 & Chelsea 2017/18 are great examples of this.)
Another way Arsenal can look to line up is in a 4-2-3-1 and attain central compactness with their CB’s & CM’s, if that is achieved, Mavropanos can work well as the structure will automatically allow him to be in a good position most of the time and when the opposition players do get in balls behind, Mavropanos can utilize his pace to win the ball back & clear it out.
Mavropanos can also be used as a passing outlet to get the ball down to Hakimi or switch the play to Aubameyang, it may not work all the time but the structure in place will allow Arsenal to win the ball back quickly so problems are not posed.
Last thoughts:
Dinos Mavropanos is a good player but I’m still undecided as to whether he would be the long-term answer to Arsenal’s RCB problem. His skill set is exactly what you want in a CB, he can track runners, defend well & is strong enough to win most duels but he can switch off & his medium-length passes will keep the team prone to turnovers. Arsenal should look to keep him for pre-season but I wouldn’t be against him being loaned out to another Premier League team this summer to adjust to the 4atb formation.