West Ham United defender Konstantinos Mavropanos has been praised by Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta following his brilliant performance against Manchester City.
Mavropanos, of course, used to play for Arsenal and may well have played a big role in handing them the Premier League title – almost six years after leaving.
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A graphic asking West Ham United fans how confident they are of Premie League survivial on a scale of 1-10.
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Indeed, Mavropanos was brilliant for West Ham against Manchester City and his block on Erling Haaland’s late shot has gone viral.
The Hammers defender, who had scored the goal that earned his side a point, was caught flush in the face by a thunderous effort from Haaland at point blank range.
Even that didn’t tell the full story, however, with the defender putting in an absolutely brilliant display in east London even beyond those big incidents.
Arteta briefly worked with the defender at Arsenal and, on Monday, he was asked about the West Ham star: “Very, very good character. A player that was signed just before I arrived as well. He had a long-term injury and didn’t get that many minutes but good to see him doing really well.”
Konstantinos Mavropanos celebrates after scoring for West Ham United against Manchester City.
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Mavropanos is making things up to former club Arsenal
The only other goal the defender has scored for West Ham actually came against Arsenal during the 2023/24 campaign as the Hammers won 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium towards the turn of the year.
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To say that alone prevented Arsenal from winning the title that season would of course be too much.
Still, Arteta’s side only missed on the top prize in English football by three points that season, so the margins were incredibly tight.
For Mavropanos, however, it does not matter what happens with Arsenal.
The main priority, of course, is staying in the Premier League with the Hammers.
Mavropanos has been brilliant for West Ham in recent weeks and while Arsenal fans will no doubt be thanking him, his contribution to the cause here in east London is obviously much more important.
Never mind the importance to his former club, that goal and the subsequent block – which has gone viral on social media – may yet keep his current employers in the Premier League.
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