The Gunners appear to be on the verge of securing the Greek defender’s signature
Arsenal are close to a deal to sign Borussia Dortmund’s Sokratis Papastathopoulos, according to their sporting director Michael Zorc.
It has been widely reported that the Gunners have been tracking BVB’s £16m Greek defender this summer, and it appears the transfer is now verging on completion.
When asked by Revier Sport if Sokratis is close to an Arsenal switch, Zorc revealed: “It tends to go there [the deal] that’s right, but things are not completely finalised yet.
“And I will not work with you now and talk about the rumour mill, which includes 27 new BVB players since the end of May!”
The 29-year-old did not enjoy a great 2017/18 season with BVB, but his reputation in the game meant Arsenal did not have a free run at Sokratis, and the player’s father, Charalambos, previously revealed Man United were talking with Dortmund over a deal for the centre-back.
“There was interest from United but he had to wait until July for them,” Charalambos told a Greek radio show.
“United have a very good relationship with Dortmund, the teams were talking more closely.
“He chose to go to Arsenal instead.”