Sokratis Papastathopoulos, who has 79 caps for Greece, is new Arsenal boss Unai Emery’s third major signing. (Source: Arsenal)
Arsenal have signed Borussia Dortmund defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos on a long-term contract for an undisclosed fee, the Premier League club announced on Monday.
Papastathopoulos, who has 79 caps for Greece, is new Arsenal boss Unai Emery’s third major signing of the summer following goalkeeper Bernd Leno from Bayer Leverkusen and defender Stephan Lichtsteiner from Juventus.
“Arsenal is one of the biggest teams in the Premier League,” Papastathopoulos told the club’s website. “It has a lot of fans and a very big history and I am very happy to be here to help the team,” he added.
British media reports said that the centre back had signed a three-year deal with the option for a further 12 months after finalising a move for a fee in the region of 16 million pounds ($21.01 million). The 30-year-old, who won two Bundesliga titles and one German Cup, will wear the number five shirt for Arsenal, the club said.