Dinos Mavropanos loaned to FC Nurnberg

A day after loaning out Emile Smith Rowe and Tyrese John-Jules, Arsenal continued its January transfer window activity by sending Greek centerback Konstantinos Mavropanos to 2. Bundesliga bottom-dweller FC Nürnberg. Mavropanos has just one senior appearance for the Gunners this season to go along with 11 matches with the U23s.

Mavropanos joined Arsenal in January of 2018 from Greek side PAS Giannina for £1.9M. He showed flashes of potential during that spring, but has struggled to stay healthy and has failed to make much of an impact with the senior side. He’s got impressive physical tools but when you’re spending more time in the training room than on the pitch, it’s difficult to develop those tools into anything useful.

Truth be told, this loan move is not a great sign for his future at Arsenal. Nürnberg are 16th in the second division in Germany. He’s not going to be playing high-level football, and if that is the best loan offer he can garner, it’s tough to see him coming back to North London and suddenly being relevant at a club with Arsenal’s aspirations.

But, in theory, he’ll at least be getting minutes on-loan, which he wasn’t going to get at the Emirates this winter and spring. Centerbacks often take a bit longer to develop, and with his injury history, Mavropanos really hasn’t had the opportunity to do much developing at all. At 22, he’s still young — maybe a good chunk of meaningful playing time can set him back on the right track. And if it doesn’t, hopefully he shows he can stay healthy so that Arsenal can sell him for at least enough to break even.