Arsenal inch closer to first summer signing

Arsenal are reportedly on the cusp of signing defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos from Borussia Dortmund for a fee of around £17.5m.

According to Bild, the Gunners are already in advanced talks with the defender's representatives and they are now close to finalising terms over a two-year contract.

Gunners' head of recruitment Sven Mislintat is understood to be playing a key role in the proposed move and the 29-year-old is now likely to become the club's first signing of the post-Arsene Wenger era.

Apart from Sokratis, the Gunners are likely to pursue another centre-back during the summer after witnessing Laurent Koscielny suffer a long-term Achilles injury earlier this month.

Arsenal ended their league season with an away win over Huddersfield and this ensured that they picked up their first points of 2018 on the road. Despite this they finished with their worst-ever position, points tally and defensive record since Arsene Wenger took charge of the club.