Arsenal have been able to complete the signing of Greek defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos. The club typically did not disclose the length of the contract, but claimed that the 30-year-old has signed a long-term deal with the club. The defender has made the switch from Borussia Dortmund for a fee of around £ 17 million. He has represented clubs like AC Milan, Genoa, and Werder Bremen before making the move to Dortmund. At his latest German outfit,Papastathopoulos was able to make no less than 186 appearances. Hence, Arsenal are getting a player who is steeped in experience when it comes to European football.

Arsenal are no strangers to signing defenders from the German league and Per Mertesacker is one of the first names that springs to the mind. However,Papastathopoulos is a Greek international who has made 79 appearances for the national team. He will wear the number five shirt at Arsenal. His arrival does not seem to conclude an active transfer market for Arsenal, as the club has been quite active in helping new manager Unai Emery with a list of new players to complement the existing stars. The other names who have moved to Arsenal in the summer include Stephan Lichtsteiner and Bernd Len. After having made the switch to Arsenal,Papastathopoulos will be reunited with his former Borussia Dortmund players – Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

“I feel very good, everything is special.It is a beautiful moment and I am very happy that for the next years I will be here. Arsenal are one of the three biggest teams in the Premier League.I’m a normal defender. I like to defend. I like that my team doesn’t take goals. I like a zero in the defence and I will do everything to help to achieve this goal,” saidPapastathopoulos.