There’s a good chance that Arsenal’s central defence this season could have a ‘Made in Greece’ tag on it, after the club announced the signing of experienced Greek international defender, Sokratis Papastathopoulos from Borussia Dortmund, for a reported €20 million.
The powerful 30-year-old will team up with 20-year-old compatriot Konstantinos Mavropanos who joined the North Londoners early this year as one of former coach, Arsene Wenger’s last signings.
Papastathopoulos also joins former Dortmund teammates Pierre Emerick Aubameyang and Henrikh Mkhitaryan at the Emirates stadium.
He is new Arsenal coach, Unai Emery’s third signing since taking over from the departed Wenger in May. All three are defenders and indicate Emery’s determination to strengthen the Gunners’ defence. Others include full back Stephan Lichtsteiner and keeper Bernd Leno who will compete with Petr Cech for the number one spot.
Papastathopoulos made his debut for AEK in 2005, going on to play in Serie A with Genoa before joining Werder Bremen in 2012. He then joined Borussia Dortmund in 2013 where he played under current Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp. He went on to play 130 games for the Bundesliga club over the next four seasons, becoming a respected leader on and off the park and rising to the vice-captaincy.
Another of his coaches at Dortmund, Thomas Tuchel, described the central defender’s uncompromising style.
“He’s a little obsessed with defending. He wants to protect the goal-line no matter what and he’s hungry to face duels,” Tuchel said.
Known to fans as Sokratis, he is also the vice-captain of the Greek national team for which he has played 79 times.
Speaking on Arsenal TV after his signing, Papastathopoulos said “I feel very good, everything is special”.
“It is a beautiful moment and I am very happy for the next years that I will be here. Arsenal is one of the three biggest teams in the Premier League,” he continued.
“I’m a normal defender, I like to defend. I like that my team doesn’t take goals. I like a zero in the defence, and I will do everything to help to achieve this goal.”