Sokratis was confirmed as the Gunners’ latest signing this week
Arsenal’s new centre-back Sokratis Papastathopoulos’ move to the Emirates Stadium was confirmed on Monday.
The Greek international had long been linked with a move to Unai Emery’s team, who had struggled with defensive problems in recent years under previous manager Arsene Wenger.
The defender joins from Borussia Dortmund, where he spent five years after joining from Werder Bremen in 2013, after years of speculation regarding potential moves to the Premier League.
After his unveiling today, Sokratis sat down and spoke to Arsenal’s in-house television station, where he revealed that – aside from the club’s obvious appeal – exactly what attracted him to the Emirates.
The key, he admitted, was conversations with former Borussia Dortmund teammates Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who put on a charm offensive to convince the ex-Genoa man to move to England.
“I spoke [to them] a lot of times, they said to me the best [thing] about this club is that it’s like one big family,” Sokratis told the club
“And of course, they called me. Not everyday but they called me a lot of times for me to come here.”
“It’s also very beautiful how I come to a team and also have two players that I’ve been with for a lot of years, so I know them both very well and I’m very happy.”
