Sokratis Papastathopoulos has described signing for Arsenal as “a beautiful moment” after his move to the Emirates Stadium was confirmed.
The Gunners announced on Monday afternoon that the Greece international had signed a “long-term contract” after being brought in from Borussia Dortmund for an undisclosed fee.
“I feel very good, everything is special,” Papastathopoulos told Arsenal Player.
“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.
“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.”
The 30-year-old becomes the third new arrival at the Emirates since Unai Emery was appointed as Arsene Wenger’s replacement in May.
He joins full-back Stephan Lichtsteiner and goalkeeper Bernd Leno in joining the Gunners ahead of the new season and will link up with former Dortmund team-mates Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Papastathopoulos previously played for Genoa, AC Milan and Werder Bremen having broken through at AEK Athens.
He will battle with the likes of Shkodran Mustafi, Laurent Koscielny, Calum Chambers and compatriot Konstantinos Mavropanos for a place in the heart of Emery’s defence.