Transfer Rumor: Sokratis Papastathopoulos deal done this week for Arsenal

Sokratis Papastathopoulos has been linked with a move to the Emirates as Unai Emery’s first signing in his tenure with Arsenal football club.

Sokratis, a Greek international, has 12 months remaining on his current contract with the Borussia Dortmund. Many options to consider for player and all clubs involved.

Dortmund could choose to sell and make sure they recoup funds on the established defender, rather than lose out on money if he was to leave on a free next summer. Which seems to be the case for most players, recently.

Reports

According to The Telegraph and the Independent, Sokratis is likely to be sold at £16 million, which would represent good value, considering the massive fees defenders have incurred in recent years.

Laurent Koscielny ruptured his Achilles in the 2nd leg of the Europa League semifinal against Atletico Madrid, and is likely to be out until at least November. Though that is not guaranteed and after experiencing the horror show of Santi Cazorla’s recovery from a similar injury, it is unlikely that Arsenal fans would be confident in a swift return.

Regardless, the Arsenal backline has been in shambles in recent years and this seems like shrewd investment by the new Arsenal board.

Analysis

However, Sokratis, aged 29, did not have a strong season at Borussia Dortmund last season and the team as a whole had a disappointing season, finishing fourth in Bundesliga.

Also, it was expected that Mislintat would be the kind of recruiter who would be able to find a diamond in the rough type of talent from all over the world. Similar to his process at Dortmund, when he discovered players such as, Shinji Kagawa.

If the Sokratis Papastathopoulos signing goes through though, that means that three of the first four signings of his tenure as head of recruitment would be buying players from his old club.

Next: Lucas Perez on his way to Lazio

This may not be a bad idea, considering Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang are world-class players, but for a team with title-winning ambitions, it must be mentioned that Dortmund have not won the Bundesliga since the 2012/2013 season under Jurgen Klopp.

Considering that the Arsenal backline is in desperate need of reinforcements it should still be a good investment. Especially since Sokratis is an experienced center back, with the kind of physicality that should thrive in the Premier League.