Arsenal defender Sokratis has insisted that he won’t just see out his contract for the sake of it as he hinted at wanting a more prominent role.
The 31-year-old has made 26 appearances so far this season across all competitions, although he hasn’t featured at all in the last five consecutive Premier League games as he has struggled to cement his place in the starting XI under Mikel Arteta.
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Having scored in the win over Portsmouth on Monday night to help the Gunners advance in the FA Cup, he’ll hope to have made an impression on the Arsenal boss to give him more playing time in the league, but it remains to be seen if that situation changes.
As noted in his comments below though, Sokratis isn’t prepared to sit around for another year and see out his current contract if his role doesn’t change, although he adds that he will continue to be professional about his situation at the Emirates.
“I don’t know,” he replied when asked if he would leave next year, as quoted by the Daily Mail. “I have one more year here but me, I never sit on my contract.
“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. If not, I take the road and I finish.
“I don’t think about it, I think every day to be happy and help the team and in the end we will see but what I say is that I am not a player who sits on a contract – I don’t need it.”
Time will tell how the situation plays out for Sokratis and Arsenal, but it sounds as though if his playing time is limited and he isn’t able to secure a key role under Arteta in the coming months, he could be open to considering his options this summer.