Arsenal to sign Sokratis Papastathopoulos THIS WEEK: £16m deal close

The Greek international has 12 months remaining on his current contract with the Bundesliga giants.

And according to the Independent, Papastathopoulos could be an Arsenal player by the end of the week.

They say the Gunners are closing in on a £16m deal, with Arsenal’s head of recruitment Sven Mislintat driving the deal.

The Gunners are in advanced talks with the 29-year-old.

Arsenal initially made a £13m bid for the centre-back but the Gunners will now meet Dortmund’s £16m asking price.

The Independent add that Arsenal hope to complete the deal this week.

Papastathopoulos could be the start of a defensive overhaul at the Emirates this summer.

The Independent reckon Arsenal want four new defenders this transfer window following a poor season under Arsene Wenger.

Juventus’ Stephan Lichtsteiner and Caglar Soyuncu of Freiburg are also on Arsenal’s transfer wishlist this summer.

Bayer Leverkusen No 1 Bernd Leno is also reportedly being tracked, with the Gunners looking for a long-term replacement for Petr Cech, 36.

Arsenal boss Unai Emery has a £50m transfer kitty this summer, with the Emirates board refusing to spend big.

Mislintat worked with Papastathopoulos during his time at Dortmund.

The defender would follow his former team-mate Pierre Emerick Aubameyang to the Emirates.