Raphael Honigstein explains why Borussia Dortmund's Sokratis Papastathopoulos would be an underwhelming addition for Arsenal. Former Arsenal defender Lauren praised Arsene Wenger following his departure from the Gunners.
Arsenal have completed a deal for Borussia Dortmund centre-back Sokratis Papastathopoulos for an undisclosed fee.
The Gunners reportedly paid around £16 million for the 29-year-old Greece international, who had a year left on his Dortmund contract and signs on a long-term deal.
Papastathopoulos, who will wear the No. 5 shirt, becomes new head coach Unai Emery's second signing after right-back Stephan Lichtsteiner arrived on a free transfer from Juventus.
He adds further experience to Arsenal's back four and had been identified as a target by head of recruitment Sven Mislintat before Emery took over.
Emery is attempting to address the defensive problems that saw Arsenal concede 51 Premier League goals last season as they finished sixth -- their worst campaign under Arsene Wenger.
The Gunners have also been linked with a Freiburg centre-back Caglar Soyuncu, who would command a heavier price tag.
Emery was set to take charge of his first Arsenal training session on Monday as the Gunners begin preseason preparations with the players who are not at the World Cup.
A large part of the Arsenal first-team squad was due back at London Colney for fitness tests following their holiday, before Emery gets to see his new players on the training pitch for the first time.
Mattias is ESPN FC's Arsenal correspondent. Follow him on Twitter: @MattiasKaren.
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Source: espn.co.uk