Arsenal fans should be excited by new signing Konstantinos Mavropanos... new head of recruitment Sven Mislintat has a proven track record of unearthing gems

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Konstantinos Mavropanos may not be the marquee signing Arsenal fans were hoping for but the £2.2million deal for the Greek centre back should not be mocked just yet.

Arsenal's new head of recruitment Sven Mislintat seems to have hit the ground running after identifying the relatively unknown youngster from PAS Giannina.

The German unearthed some gems while working at Borussia Dortmund, laying the foundations for Jurgen Klopp's success and helping the club compete for major honours with European giants Bayern Munich.

Here Sportsmail takes a look at some of the young talents that Mislintat, nicknamed 'Diamond Eye', picked out while working at Dortmund…

Arsenal fans were not exactly blown away by new signing Konstantinos Mavropanos

New head of recruitment Sven Mislintat has unearthed some of Europe's top talents

Jakub Blaszczykowski

After moving to Dortmund in 2006, one of Mislintat's first pieces of business was to help snap up Blaszczykowski in 2007 after enjoying his early career in native Poland.

The Pole started off his senior career at Czestochowa before moving to Wisla Krakow in 2004. However, after three years at the club, the midfielder sealed a £2.75million to Dortmund, where he grew and became one of the most consistent performers.

Blaszczykowski ended up playing 252 matches for Dortmund, netting 32 goals and winning three major honours, including back-to-back Bundesliga titles in 2011 and 2012 to knock Bayern Munich off their perch. 

After enjoying the best spell of his career, he went on to leave in 2015, initially on loan to Fiorentina before completing a move to Wolfsburg in 2016 for £4.5m.

Jakub Blaszczykowski established himself as one of the Bundesliga's most consistent players

Mats Hummels

After finding it more than difficult to earn opportunities in Bayern's first team, Mislintat lined up a loan move for German centre back Hummels back in 2008.

After instantly impressing at Dortmund, Hummels completed his permanent move a year later for £3.78m before becoming a mainstay in Klopp's defence at the club and one of the best centre backs in world football.

However, in what has become a common theme at Dortmund, Hummels, who became a world champion in 2014 after Germany beat Argentina in the World Cup final in Brazil, made the return to Bundesliga rivals Bayern for a hefty fee of £31m in the summer of 2016.

Mats Hummels has gone on to become one of the best centre backs in world football

Shinji Kagawa

Mislintat, who was known for working with a modest budget at Dortmund, was instrumental in acquiring the services of 21-year-old Kagawa for just £310,000 from Japanese outfit Cerezo Osaka in 2010. 

The signing was a breakthrough moment for the club and was the start of Dortmund's rise in the Bundesliga and Europe.

The German and his scouting team visited Japan on six occasions to watch the midfielder play for the Japanese second division side, as well as producing 10 to 15 pieces of video analysis to ensure Kagawa had what it took to be a success at the Westfalenstadion.

Kagawa went on to be a crucial star in Dortmund's title-winning sides of 2011 and 2012 before joining Manchester United for £17m, a transfer fee that was considerably more than the modest six-figure sum Dortmund paid for him in the first place.

The signing of Shinji Kagawa was a breakthrough moment for Borussia Dortmund

Robert Lewandowski

The super scout also managed to line up a move for Lewandowski in 2010 for a reported fee of just £4m from Polish side Lech Poznan.

Dortmund took a leap of faith and sealed a move for the striker, who was relatively unknown at the time and had been linked to Blackburn, after scoring a very impressive 41 goals in 82 matches for Lech Poznan.

After failing to properly shine in his first season at Dortmund, he then flourished under Klopp and guided Dortmund to their first league and cup double in 2012 after scoring a hat-trick in the German Cup final against rivals Bayern.

Lewandowski then fired Dortmund to the Champions League final in 2013 after running Real Madrid's defence ragged in the semi-finals. However, his side then lost 2-1 in the final at Wembley to Bayern and the Polish international then made a free transfer to the Allianz Arena outfit in the summer of 2014 after seeing out his contract.

Polish forward Robert Lewandowski has grown into one of the top strikers in Europe

Ilkay Gundogan 

Following the departure of Nuri Sahin, Dortmund were in desperate need of a replacement in the heart of midfield and took the opportunity to sign Gundogan from mid-table FC Nurnberg in 2011 for £4.95m.

The German star found his feet quickly and was a mainstay as Dortmund enjoyed success in 2011 and 2012. 

Just a year later, Gundogan found himself playing in the Champions League final in London, scoring the equaliser in the 68th minute from the penalty spot before going on to lose late on.

However, injuries started to plague Gundogan, who made 157 appearances for the German outfit, and he later joined Pep Guardiola at Manchester City after completing a £21m move to the Premier League.

Ilkay Gundogan was snapped up by Manchester City after shining in Germany 

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang  

After failing to make the grade at AC Milan, Aubameyang moved on to St Etienne and it was there that Mislintat took the chance to let Dortmund know about the striker's abilities. The German saw the Gabon international as a perfect fit and he ended up signing in 2013 for a cheap fee of £11.7m.

At the time of signing, Aubameyang was regarded as a lightning quick but inconsistent striker but that soon changed when he had the opportunity to work with Klopp and Thomas Tuchel. 

He has become the club's main player and ended up beating predecessor Lewandowski to the Bundesliga Golden Boot in the 2016-17 season, scoring a remarkable 31 goals in 32 matches.

However, his brilliant form inevitably led to strong links with a big-money transfer to the likes of Real Madrid and Chelsea but Dortmund have managed to hold on to him and will be hoping that he keeps on firing his side to three points in the Bundesliga.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's brilliant form has led to links with a host of Europe's top clubs

Christian Pulisic 

The American international joined BVB for free in 2015 and was assigned to the club's Under 17 side before making the step up to the Under 19s. 

And after shining at youth level, Dortmund gave him a chance in the first team and he hasn't looked back.

Pulisic has gone on to become one of Dortmund's standout performers this season, scoring three times and creating one assist in 16 Bundesliga matches to help guide his side to third in the top flight.

The 19-year-old has been touted as one of the best teenagers in world football following his recent performances and Manchester United have since been strongly linked with a move for the talented winger.

Christian Pulisic has been one of Dortmund's standout performers this season

Ousmane Dembele 

French youngster Dembele was widely known for his talents when playing for Rennes but it was Dortmund who managed to capture his services in 2016 for £13.5million.

And Dembele hit the ground running at the ever-impressive Westfalenstadion, scoring 10 goals in 49 matches and creating the third most assists in Europe, with 20 in all competitions.

But his fine form also attracted the attentions of a host of Europe's top clubs and he ended up signing for La Liga giants Barcelona in the summer for a staggering transfer fee of £96m plus add-ons, which could rise to £136m.

Mislintat brought in Ousmane Dembele for £13.5m in 2016 and he was sold for £96m in 2017