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From Germany: Arsenal close-in on £17.5m signing as Mislintat plots triple summer swoop

By on April 27, 2018

According to Bild via Football London, Arsenal are closing-in on a £17.5m deal to sign Borussia Dortmund defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos with Sven Mislintat driving the negotiations.

As we all know by now, Arsene Wenger is leaving this summer but whoever takes over is going to have to sort our defence out as it’s become a total shambles this season.

Our weakness at the back was exposed once again last night as more schoolboy defending gifted Atletico Madrid an undeserved equaliser during our Europa League semi-final first leg.

Laurent Koscielny was mostly at fault for the goal and it’s clear his best days are behind him while Shkodran Mustafi has been a huge disappointment since arriving from Valencia.

With Per Mertesacker also retiring, it’s not unreasonable to think we need to sign two new centre-backs this summer and it looks like Arsenal chiefs are already making moves in the market.

Bild, via Football London, claim that we’re closing in on a deal to sign Borussia Dortmund defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos that’s expected to set us back around £17.5m.

Papastathopoulos has been linked with Arsenal in the past but the speculation has intensified since Mislintat arrived as our head of recruitment earlier this year.

And the German publication says Mislintat has been holding talks with the Papastathopoulos’ agent Konstantinos Farras to try and push through the deal ahead of the opening of the summer window.

The 29-year-old has just over one year left on his contract and is reportedly ready for a new challenge with Bild saying Arsenal is set to be his new destination despite rival interest from the likes of Man Utd, Chelsea and Juventus.

The report goes on to say that Mislintat wants to sign three new players this summer with a new goalkeeper and central midfielder being targetted as well as Papastathopoulos.

No names are given but it’s good to hear we’re looking to strengthen the right areas as there’s no denying we need a new No.1 and a dominant midfielder along with [at least one] central defender.

It’s certainly going to be one of the most exciting summers in recent history for Arsenal.Let’s pray we get things right….