Arsenal signing Issa Diop would surely make Sokratis’s exit more likely

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The Daily Mirror reported over the weekend that Arsenal are interested in West Ham United defender Issa Diop this summer as Mikel Arteta looks to bolster his centre-back options.

Diop is 23 and has arguably shown a lot of promise during his time in the Premier League. His form may have been mixed at times, but he appears to have enormous potential.

And with William Saliba returning from his loan once the season concludes, it appears that Arsenal may have an exciting partnership who can secure their spots in the team for years to come up their sleeve.

That could be bad news for the likes of David Luiz and Shkodran Mustafi. The pair have been Arteta’s first-choice pairing since his appointment, and they have largely done well.

But Diop’s arrival would surely push one Arsenal player closer to the exit, particularly given recent comments he made about his future.

Sokratis has made 19 Premier League starts this season. However, he has featured much less prominently since the turn of the year.

The 31-year-old has made just three top flight appearances in 2020. And he recently suggested, in comments reported by Football London, that he would prefer to leave a club than be a peripheral figure.

“I have one more year here but me, I never sit on my contract,” he said, as reported by Football London.

“I don’t care. If I’m not happy, I don’t play enough or the coach doesn’t like me, I don’t care about the contract. For me the money is not important, it is important I feel good, I feel happy and the team is happy with me.”

As noted by Football London, his contract expires in 2021. So Arsenal will surely have to move him on this year if they hope to recoup a reasonable amount.

And should Diop come in, Sokratis will find it significantly more difficult to secure game-time.

So should Arsenal land the West Ham man during the next transfer window, perhaps it would be fair to assume that Sokratis may get the green light to leave the Emirates.