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BBC: Arsenal on verge of agreeing £16m deal as Emery closes-in on double swoop

By on May 28, 2018

According to the BBC, Arsenal are closing-in on a £16m deal to sign Sokratis Papastathopoulos as Unai Emery looks to strengthen his defence with two new signings.

Emery was unveiled as our new head coach last week but he’s working closely with head of recruitment Sven Mislintat in trying to reshape our squad this summer and defence is a priority area.

We need to sign at least one centre-back as Per Mertesacker has retired and Laurent Koscielny may never return the same player after being ruled out for six months with an Achilles injury.

Papastathopoulos has emerged as a prime target and BBC journalist David Ornstein claims Arsenal are now close to wrapping-up a £16m deal to sign the player from Borussia Dortmund.

The 29-year-old has just one year left on his contract so Dortmund have decided to cash-in before losing him for nothing next summer and Arsenal are set to be the beneficiaries.

Mislintat knows Papastathopoulos well as he was the man to help take him to Dortmund five years ago and it looks like the pair are set to be reunited at the Emirates this summer.

The Greek international will add some experience to our defence in the absence of Mertesacker and Koscielny but he’ll also act as a role model for the likes of Konstantinos Mavropanos and Calum Chambers.

Papastathopoulos’s arrival could be part of a double swoop as the BBC claims Arsenal are also in advanced negotiations to sign Stephan Lichtsteiner on a free transfer from Juventus.

The 34-year-old has spent seven hugely successful years in Turin but his contract is up next month and it looks like he’s set for a move to Arsenal over the coming days.

We desperately need support for Hector Bellerin in the right-back position and Lichtsteiner will be a solid deputy while he’ll also add a winning mentality to the squad.

READ: Arsenal agree deal to sign Serie A star

So it looks like the Emery-era is about to kick-off with two experienced defensive signings that will cost us around £16m with that cost potentially being covered by the sale of Shkodran Mustafi – who’s being tipped to leave this summer.