Arsenal defender Konstantinos Mavropanos could reportedly be heading for a loan departure from the Emirates Stadium, having struggled for gametime with the club. The Greek defender was promising with his displays during the closing stages of Arsene Wenger’s tenure but he has since struggled for playing time with a number of injuries along the way.

Mavropanos has made just a couple of appearances for the Gunners this term but his prospects of securing a regular berth appear slim with new manager Mikel Arteta looking at the possibility of adding another centre-back in the ranks rather than banking on the options at hand. As a result, Mavropanos has been touted to head for a fresh challenge for a while and reports in England claims that he could join either Nottingham Forest or Olympiakos in the New Year.

The Gunners are only willing to sanction a loan move at the moment but they won’t no doubt want the assurance of first-team football wherever Mavropanos moves. Olympiakos are currently facing a tough fight with PAOK at the top of the Greek top-flight and they seem keen on strengthening the backline despite conceding only six goals from 16 league games.

Should Mavropanos join them, he could come against the Gunners as early as February, given the teams have been drawn together for the round of 32 stage of the Europa League. Meanwhile, Forest are competing for possible promotion to the Premier League and they are presently in the fourth spot with a nine-point deficit to the top-two places.

Forest have a good association with the Gunners after the recent capture of Carl Jenkinson from the north London side and that could give them the edge over Olympiakos in the pursuit of Mavropanos. Mavropanos has been on the bench for the Gunners in three of the previous four Premier League matches.