Mikel Arteta does not have Sokratis Papastathopoulos as part of his plans for Arsenal over the remainder of his contract.
The news will not have come as a surprise to Sokratis, who has played just one minute of football in all competitions since the lockdown.
However Arteta's stance has not prompted Sokratis to consider departing the Gunners and, as football.london first revealed on July 12, he intends to see out his contract at the Emirates Stadium.
Unlike Matteo Guendouzi there is no prospect of Sokratis being frozen out of the squad and he remains a diligent member of the first team during training. However it is equally unlikely that the Greek centre-back will be given a run of games unless Arteta faces an exceptional injury crisis in defence.
football.london understands that Arteta believes the 32-year-old simply does not fit his tactical plan and will not play significant games under him. For his part Sokratis has not given up hope that he can change his head coach's mind and has no intention of leaving the club this summer.
In spite of that his opportunities look likely to be limited with six centre-backs seemingly ahead of him in the pecking order and repurposed left-backs Kieran Tierney and Sead Kolasinac getting more game time in Sokratis' preferred position.
Sokratis may point to his injury difficulties post-restart as explaining why he has found opportunities so hard to come by, a groin problem ruling him out for a fortnight when Arsenal returned to action.
Arteta is understood to have doubts over Sokratis' ball-playing ability, a crucial aspect of his plans for Arsenal's defence both in the short and long-term. It is notable that Shkodran Mustafi has been consistently preferred since the restart partly because of his ability in possession.
Arsenal are looking to recruit another defender in the summer transfer window but with so many numbers at the back they are looking to move out several to make room for another option. The Gunners have lodged an interest with French centre-back Malang Sarr, out of contract after his contract with Nice expired last month, but are as yet unable to progress any negotiations with the 21-year-old.
The Gunners' preference would be to move Sokratis on but they are also expected to consider offers for Kolasinac. Rob Holding has also been linked with a move away.
Arteta is set to begin the new season without three senior centre-backs - Calum Chambers (knee), Pablo Mari (ankle) and Shkodran Mustafi (hamstring) - and hinted after Sunday's win over Watford that the position needed strengthening.
“I already mentioned to you three central defenders that are not available and we haven't had them available for a long time anyway during this season," he said when asked whether he would look for new defensive options in the transfer window.
“We will have to address that.”
Sokratis has a year remaining on his contract and intends to see it out. Though he had indicated in March that he would not stay if he did not fit into Arteta's plans the coronavirus pandemic prompted him to reassess his plans.
