Arsenal confirm signing of Portuguese defender

Arsenal have confirmed that they have landed the signature of Portuguese defender Cedric Soares from Southampton ahead of Friday's transfer deadline.

The right-sided defender has joined the club on loan from the Saints but the club will have the chance to sign him permanently in the summer when his contract expires with the south Coast outfit.

"Cedric is a defender with good experience of the Premier League, and of course at international level. He is another strong addition to our defensive unit who will provide our squad with quality," technical director Edu told the club's official website.

The north London have landed the signatures of Pablo Mari and Soares on a temporary basis this month and they are unlikely to make anymore signings before the transfer window closes at 11pm on Friday.

Of course, they were recently in negotiations to sign Mykola Matviyenko from Shakhtar Donetsk but the deal could not materialise with the Ukranian giants reluctant to accept a temporary move this month.

Shakhtar were supposedly demanding a package of around £30m for the versatile defender and they had made it clear that they won't accept an initial loan agreement unless the Gunners included the obligation to buy in the summer.