The German media have been reporting on Sokratis Papastathopoulos to Arsenal for over a month.
At the end of April, Bild revealed the defender was on the verge of swapping BVB for the London club. It was a big claim from the German newspaper, but they sound very confident… this wasn’t just another transfer rumour.
Sven Mislintat was presented as being the man behind the signing, and with the Gunners not having a new manager confirmed at that time, it was clear transfer business was going on anyway.
The deal has paused for a while since then, and now Unai Emery has been announced, the signing of Sokratis would naturally follow. Kicker say Arsenal are now just working on the ‘final details’ of a move, and it’s one which is very much expected to happen.
According to Kicker’s own information, the move is now ‘almost certain’ and Sokratis just needs to complete a medical without any hitches and he’ll become an Arsenal player.
The fee is estimated at around €17m and the defender will be given a contract until June 2021.
