Arsenal new boy Konstantinos Mavropanos has revealed his delight at signing for the club, declaring that he’s now a Gunner
The 20-year-old became Arsene Wenger’s first signing of the January transfer window on Thursday after joining from Greek Super League side PAS Giannina for a fee in the region of £1.8 million.
Mavropanos was spotted by new Arsenal head of recruitment Sven Mislintat while the German was working for Borussia Dortmund.
The centre back is expected to be sent out on loan in order to help him develop as a player. Upon signing for Arsenal the Greece Under-20 international spoke about how it feels to swap his homeland for north London.
“In this moment I cannot describe exactly how I feel,” Mavropanos told Nova Sports.
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“From my heart I would like to thank the Arsenal officials for the great honour they’ve shown [to me] because they’ve put me in the family of a huge club with millions of fans all over the world.
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“I am very touched. I will give all my strength with my performances to repay this honour and trust in order to make the club and its supporters happy.
“I had the luck to make my first professional steps at PAS Giannina, a club that has a tradition to offer young players the opportunity for a big step in their careers.
“Mr. Christovasilis [PAS Giannina owner], Mr. Petrakis [PAS coach], my team-mates and the entire city of Ioannina stood by my side. I’m grateful and thank you to all.
“I’d also like to publicly thank my agent Mr. Konstantinos Farras for all of his actions over the last few months which have brought today’s outcome. From now I am a Gunner!”
Mavropanos follows his countryman Panagiotis Retsos, Kostas Manolas and Sokratis Papastathopoulos as high-profile defenders who have left Greece for bigger European leagues in recent seasons.
Farras was pivotal in getting the deal over the line and the Greek was full of praise for his client, describing Mavropanos as "very mature, humble and a fighter."
"Konstantinos Mavropanos is a talented and very evolving footballer,” said Farras.
“The most important thing is that he is a man who, despite his young age, is very mature, humble and a fighter. In life - and in football more - there are some plans that are never getting done, and other plans that are not spoken about but get done.
“With hard work and thoughtful decisions, Kostas' football future is bright. Bravo and congratulations to Kostas Mavropanos."
