Arsenal officially confirmed the signing of defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos on Monday, and the former Borussia Dortmund star will know a few familiar faces at the Emirates.
As noted by The Guardian, the Gunners wrapped up a deal for the Greek international said to be worth £17.7m as they look to shore things up defensively.
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With quality attacking talent in the likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette, Mesut Ozil and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, it was undoubtedly about finding a balance in the side for new boss Unai Emery this summer, hence the fact that he’s signed two defenders and a goalkeeper so far.
Papastathopoulos, 30, has gained enough experience through his stints in Germany and Italy to be able to settle and have a positive influence in any team he’s part of, as he won a Serie A title with AC Milan in 2011 along with three domestic trophies while with Dortmund.
However, one thing that will help him settle in London is seeing familiar faces, and he’s got that at Arsenal with Aubameyang and Mkhitaryan after previously playing alongside each other in Germany.
The former was on hand to welcome his old friend to the club, as seen in his Twitter post below, and the pair will undoubtedly be relishing working together again and pushing to ensure that Arsenal are successful moving forward.
The Premier League giants missed out on Champions League for the second consecutive season last year, and so they’ll be fully focused on improving and doing their part to see Emery make a positive start to life at the Emirates.
Papaaaaaaaaa pic.twitter.com/0KkFV1anN8
— Aubameyang P-E (@Aubameyang7) July 2, 2018