It looks like that elusive ‘first signing’ of the Unai Emery era at Arsenal is finally close to completion, as the Evening Standard reported last night…..
The father of Borussia Dortmund defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos says his son will complete a move to Arsenal on Tuesday.
Papastathopoulos has been in talks with the Gunners over a £16million move to north London for the last month as the north London club plot an overhaul of their defence that will also include the addition of soon-to-be free agent Stephan Lichtsteiner.
Standard Sport understands that Arsenal do not currently expect a deal to be done and dusted within the next 24 hours but progress has been swift and there is cause for optimism that Papastathopoulos will soon be an Arsenal player.
“He is happy, he is in England at the moment, and tomorrow everything will be done,” he said.
“The English league is the highest [level] in the world, the most competitive, and I believe he will do well.”
He also claimed that his son had received interest from Manchester United but had opted to make the switch to the Emirates Stadium, where he will link up with former Dortmund team-mates Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, as well as the one-time chief scout at the Westphalenstadion, Sven Mislintat.
It certainly looks like Mislintat is trying to round up as many former Dortmund players as possible to kickstart the Arsenal revival, and the aim is definitely to bring in experienced players that know the meaning of success in their careers, but there is the worry that some may be approaching the end of their careers, like Lichsteiner.
We all know defenders can usually extend their careers long beyond 30 years of age so it makes sense if they have retained their fitness and ability. So do you think this is a god move by the Gunners?
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