Report: Arsenal Agrees Deal for Borussia Dortmund Defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos
Arsenal has reached an agreement to sign Borussia Dortmund's Sokratis Papastathopoulos for £16m, which will make the defender the second signing of the summer under new boss Unai Emery when he is unveiled next month.
The Gunners have looked to prioritise their defence throughout the summer following the departure of Per Mertesacker and the absence of Laurent Koscielny for the start of next season, with Sokratis set to join Stephan Lichsteiner in a new look back line following his arrival on a free transfer from Juventus.
Sokratis, who had one-year remaining on his contract with Dortmund, will not be officially announced until next month but the 29-year-old is expected to put pen to paper on a three-year deal at the Emirates, with earlier reports suggesting he will earn £84,000-per-week - as per the Telegraph.
The 29-year-old is expected to slot straight into Emery'starting lineup next season, where he will become the third former Dortmund man to lineup at Arsenal alongside Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
Sokratis's arrival alongside Lichsteiner represents the Gunners' ambition to sign proven players this summer in a bid to catapult the club back into the Champions League next season.
The 29-year-old has earned 79 caps for Greece and had played for Dortmund since 2013 following his move from Werder Bremen, with time also spent with Genoa and AC Milan.
In other news, Arsenal have also looked to reform their midfield this summer but Emery is hoping to commit a significant proportion of the budget to tie up Aaron Ramsey as he sees the Welshman as one of the pillars of his team.
The Gunners have already offered Ramsey a pay rise on his current deal of just over £100,000-per-week but the report claims the current market ensures a figure in the region of £200,000-per-week is a realistic expectation for the 27-year-old.
