Arsenal’s defense needs to be sorted out on priority this summer and it seems the North London club have finally recognised this issue.
Having already signed a goalkeeper and a fullback, the attention of the North London club now turns to a center back in the form of Sokratis of Borussia Dortmund. And judging by the reports, the player has signed for the club but the announcement will be a little delayed, according to reports in Express.
The news was explained by Sky Sports reported Dharmesh Sheth who said:
“Stephan Lichtsteiner is in, Bernd Leno is in and Sokratis Papastathopoulos will sign on July 1.
“The reason July 1 is because Borussia Dortmund want to announce that at the start of the new tax quarter in Germany. There are financial reasons which I cannot even begin to go into.”
This is good news as it shows that Arsenal are keen on strengthening their defense and recent reports suggested that a €20 million (£17.5m) has already been agreed. Getting someone as experienced as Sokratis is bound to make the team stronger.
The Greek has established himself as a key member for the Dortmund side over a number of years. Sokratis has impressed in the Bundesliga as well as the Champions League. He has shown that he is a player with a strong mentality and that is sure to be of help to the sometimes fragile Arsenal defense.
When the signing does get confirmed, Sokratis will become the third signing for Arsenal this summer after the completing deals for of Bernd Leno and Stepan Lichtsteiner.
It is clear that the club are looking at bringing in players that are more short-term and will help Arsenal get back into the Champions League.
The center back is an area that did require some form of reinforcements especially after the retirement of Per Mertesacker and the long-term injury that was suffered by Laurent Koscielny.
Sokratis is not the most exciting name out there but he promises to be an effective person for the job. All that the fans can do now is wait for the 1st of July to see the player in an Arsenal shirt.
