Stephan Lichtsteiner is close to moving to Arsenal but he will not be the first to arrive according to reports this morning – that honour will fall to Sokratis Papastathopoulos.

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The Daily Mail claim that Unai Emery is expecting the Borussia Dortmund man to be the first signing of his new era (for the senior team at least). Bild reported on 19 May that the defender would sign a two-year-deal with the club.

The length of contract might seem a bit surprising, given recent signings like Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang getting a three-and-a-half year contract, or Alexandre Lacazette getting a five year deal. The difference is that Sokratis will be 30 this summer.

Sokratis is almost certainly on the way out this summer, after failing to agree a contract renewal to stay in Dortmund. The defender originally looked certain to end up at Arsenal. Reports immediately after the end of the season suggested a €20m transfer on a two-year deal was practically nailed on.

Dortmund are apparently so sure the move will happen that they’re already searching for a successor. They have their eyes set on Mainz defender Abdou Diallo, and are reportedly planning a €25m bid.

Lichtsteiner, meanwhile, has reportedly already been to London Colney and that deal, which would see the Juventus man arrive on a free transfer, also seems to be close.

The 34-year-old will bring a wealth of experience to the club and will be invaluable in helping Hector Bellerin re-start his development.

Arsenal may need to buy more than one defender this summer, so click ‘Next’ to see the other centre-backs the media are linking them to.

Daniele Rugani

• Age: 23
• Current club: Juventus
• Contract until: 2021
• Market value: £18m

Rugani is a young defender who has a few years of experience learning from the likes of Giorgio Chiellini, Andrea Barzagli and Leonardo Bonucci, playing for one of the biggest teams in Europe. It doesn’t get much better than that in terms of learning your defensive trade.

According to the player’s agent, Arsenal showed an interest in the centre-back in January, but didn’t make an official offer at the time. We’ll see if they decide to go back in the summer.

Despite his age, Rugani already caught the eye of a lot of fans and critics.

In 2015, Don Balon named him as one of the best young players in the world. He is an intelligent player, who prefers to win the ball with his positioning, rather than diving in.

He keeps his focus well, and has a very good eye for a pass. As we know, passing is a key trait if you’re going to play in defence for Arsenal.

If Mislintat wants to freshen up the defence without losing top level European experience, Rugani could be the answer.

Kalidou Koulibaly

• Age: 26
• Current club: Napoli
• Contract until: 2021
• Market value: £45m

According to reports earlier this year, Arsenal sent scouts to watch Koulibaly as Napoli played RB Leipzig in the Europa League. The defender apparently “continues to like the English club a lot”.

The club also reportedly showed an interest last summer, making an enquiry for his services. Ultimately that led to nothing as Arsenal didn’t make any further signings until January.

Koulibaly’s strengths are his tackling and his passing, with over a 90% pass completion rate this season. Also, at 1.95m he provides a major physical presence in defence. That’s something which could be very helpful at Arsenal, especially now that Per Mertesacker’s playing days are done.

The biggest roadblock for Arsene Wenger if he wants to sign the Senegal international is the competition from elsewhere. Manchester United and Chelsea have both been following the defender for some time now.

Without Champions League football, we’ll have to wait and see if Arsenal can find a way to convince the defender to turn down those that have it.

Kostas Manolas

• Age: 26
• Current club: AS Roma
• Contract until: 2022
• Market value: £31.5m

Very late in the January window, reliable BBC journalist David Ornstein confirmed Arsenal were exploring the possibility of signing the Roma centre-back. He also revealed that Arsene Wenger was trying to sign the defender back in the summer of 2016, before settling for Shkodran Mustafi.

Clearly the club like the defender, so they could revive that interest again this summer. The Manolas links feel like they’ve been going on forever, but at 26 he still has a lot of football ahead of him.

The Greek international is great in the air, and he has a lot of top level experience as well. He helped Roma to a Champions League semi-final, before eventually narrowly losing out to Liverpool.

Perhaps Arsenal could bring Manolas in to join Konstantinos Mavropanos, a fellow Greek defender who joined in January. Roma are under no obligation to sell though, with Manolas’ contract lasting another four years.

Jose Gimenez

• Age: 23
• Current club: Atletico Madrid
• Contract until: 2020
• Market value: £31.5m

Gimenez recently signed a contract extension to 2020, otherwise he would’ve been a free agent this summer. Still, that’s not a particularly long contract in today’s market, especially for such a young and talented player.

In fact, recent reports suggest the player has a £57.3m release clause. If Arsenal wanted him badly enough, they could just pay up and get him. The Express wrote in February that the Uruguayan was Wenger’s “top target”.

Gimenez is a regular in Atletico’s well drilled defensive back line. They only conceded 22 goals in 38 league games this season, the lowest in the league.

The 23-year-old is a threat on set-pieces, as he’s so strong in the air, and he also puts his body on the line to make blocks regularly. If Arsenal are willing to pay a bit more to lock down the position for a few years, Gimenez could be their best option.

Jonny Evans

• Age: 30
• Current club: West Bromwich Albion
• Contract until: 2019
• Market value: £13.5m

Evans might not be the most popular candidate with fans for a move to north London, but he’s certainly a very realistic one.

According to rumours in January, the defender has a clause in his contract allowing him to leave for just £3m if West Brom get relegated. Their relegation is now certain, so it wouldn’t cost the Gunners much to bring him in.

David Ornstein confirmed Arsenal’s interest in the defender last summer. There were also reports towards the end of the January window that the club made a late bid, but started too low.

Evans is a massively experienced Premier League centre-back. He initially came through the ranks at Manchester United, and spent nine years with the senior side before joining West Brom. I wouldn’t rule out a transfer to bolster Arsenal’s back line.

David Luiz

• Age: 31
• Current club: Chelsea
• Contract until: 2019
• Market value: £25.2m

At the same time as revealing the Manolas links in January, Ornstein also revealed Arsenal were looking at David Luiz.

At the time it was possibly connected to the Olivier Giroud deal, so it’s not clear whether a deal could happen without that leverage.

On the other hand, Antonio Conte’s treatment of the defender this season suggests he could leave soon. The Brazilian played just two of Chelsea’s league games in 2018. Much of that was through injury, but given how often he didn’t play even when fit, it’s hard to know if the injury is really as bad as they’re claiming.

Add to that his expiring contract, and Arsenal would have a great chance to sign the defender if they wanted to.

Luiz has won most of the trophies available to him with Chelsea. He’s picked up the Premier League, the FA Cup, the Champions League and the Europa League. He’d certainly make an experienced addition to Wenger’s side.

Plus he’s very versatile, and could also help out in defensive midfield if necessary.