OFFICIAL: Arsenal complete Sokratis deal

Arsenal have confirmed the signing of Sokratis Papastathopoulos, the defender joining the Premier League side from Borussia Dortmund.

The 30-year-old brings a wealth of experience to the 'Gunners' having represented the likes of AC Milan and Werder Bremen in his career to date, as well as making 79 appearances for his national side.

The strapping centre-back will wear the number five shirt at the Emirates, with Arsenal announcing his arrival "on a long-term contract for an undisclosed fee."

Sokratis won one German Cup and two Bundesligas during his time with Dortmund and now joins Bernd Leno and Stephan Lichtsteiner in joining Unai Emery's side ahead of the new season.

The Greece international could barely hide his delight at completing the deal when speaking to Arsenal's official website, saying: "I feel very good. It’s my first day here, everything is special. It’s a beautiful moment and I’m very happy that I will be here for the next years.

"Arsenal is one of the three biggest teams in the Premier League and one very big club. It has a lot of fans and a very big history. Like I said before, I’m very happy that for the next years I will be here to help the team."

Papastathopoulos reunites with former Borussia Dortmund team-mates Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang at the Emirates and given their propensity for leaking cheap goals in recent years, Arsenal fans will be no doubt be delighted to be able to call upon a player that Thomas Tuchel described as "a little bit obsessed with defending" and someone who wants to "protect the goalline no matter what"

 

July 2, 2018