Arsenal agree terms with Swiss defender

Arsenal have reportedly agreed on a one-year contract with Stephan Lichtsteiner, who is expected to leave Juventus on a free transfer next month.

The 34-year-old has been with the Bianconeri for the past seven seasons but he has already made his mind up for a fresh challenge elsewhere.

According to Gazzetta dello Sport, the Gunners reached an agreement with Lichtsteiner on Wednesday and it is now left for the right-back to put pen-to-paper on the contract.

Lichtsteiner, who has previously attracted interest from Borussia Dortmund, is due to sign a one-year deal with the Gunners, though there is the suggestion that the club could include a 12-month extension clause.

Aside from the Swiss, the north London giants are also close to recruiting Greek defender Sokratis Papastathopoulous from Borussia Dortmund with a fee of around £17.5m quoted for his signature.

New Arsenal manager Unai Emery is reported to have been offered a pre-sales budget of around £70m for the summer and the Spaniard may have to offload a couple of existing players in order to recoup additional transfer funds.