Arsenal Rumors: 3 New Players As Unai Emery Focuses On Defensive Issues

Arsenal stepped up their transfer activity following the arrival of Unai Emery and is looking to get some business concluded before the 2018 World Cup commences in Russia.

The English Premier League club moved to a new structure of management following the departure of Arsene Wenger with Emery now performing the role of head coach.

The Spanish coach is supported by the head of recruitment Sven Mislintat, the head of football relations Raul Sanllehi and CEO Ivan Gazidis with all four holding important roles in the running of the day-to-day business of the club.

Mislintat is identifying the players along with the help of the coach and they are looking to conclude deals at the earliest and get a jump on their rivals. It looks to be that the club is first focusing on strengthening the defensive side of the squad with three defenders linked with moves to Arsenal.

The closest is said to be Borussia Dortmund’s Sokratis Papastathopoulos with BBC Sport reporting that Arsenal are close to concluding the deal for the Greek defender for a fee in the region of £16 million ($21 million). The Gunners will be without Per Mertesacker, who has retired and Laurent Koscielny, who is out until December with an injury and the Dortmund star will provide the cover needed at centre-back.

Next on the list is Stephan Lichtsteiner, the Juventus right-back is out of contract at the end of June and has confirmed that he will leave the Turin club. Emery is said to be keen to bring the experienced 34-year-old to the Emirates Stadium as a backup for Hector Bellerin, who is currently first-choice.

According to the London Evening Standard, the Switzerland international visited the club’s London Colney facility and despite not having agreed personal terms, Arsenal are said to be confident about concluding the deal in the coming days.

And finally, the third defender on their list is one for the future in Caglar Soyuncu. The 22-year-old has impressed with Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga and he is yet another player identified by Mislintat, who has an in-depth knowledge about German football.

The Turkey international confirmed Arsenal’s interest and admitted that talks about a move to England will be held after his commitments with the national team. The Gunners’ chances were boosted when he labeled them “one of the most important clubs in England.”

“Arsenal are one of the most important clubs in England,” Soyuncu said, as quoted by the London Evening Standard. "I know they’re interested in me, but there's nothing finalized yet about my transfer.”

"After the national team camp we'll have talks,” he added.

Arsenal are said to be keen to bolster their backline after a disappointing season which saw them finish sixth. They want to sign players that are ready to integrate into the first-team and two out of the three linked at the moment come with bags of experience.