Arsenal have signed Sead Kolasinac from Schalke on a long-term contract, it was confirmed on Tuesday.
The 23-year-old left-back becomes the Gunners’ first summer signing and he will join the club at pre-season training in July.
Arsenal announced the arrival of Kolasinac on their official website on Tuesday afternoon.
It’s official – @seadk6 is a Gunner! ?#WelcomeKolasinachttps://t.co/gU9umzFrIn
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) June 6, 2017
This comes after a Bild report claimed on Monday that Kolasinac’s transfer to Arsenal would be announced imminently, and that the switch would earn him around £7.5million-a-year.
The Bosnian ace was a mainstay in Schalke’s back line last term, and he made 36 appearances in all competitions.
He had been at the Bundesliga outfit since 2012, when he graduated from their youth set up, and he played 123 league and cup games for the club overall.
Kolasinac is primarily a left-back, but he is also comfortable playing at centre-back, central midfield and in left-midfield.
Gunners manager Arsene Wenger is looking to strengthen his full-back options this term, after Nacho Monreal and Kieran Gibbs struggled last campaign and by signing the Bosnian he has done that.
Given the 23-year-old’s attacking attributes, he is perfect for Wenger’s 3-4-3 formation, which was deployed in the latter stages of the 2016/17 campaign.
Kolasinac has been capped 23 times by Bosnia and Herzegovina, and he has featured in all five of his nation’s 2018 World Cup qualifiers so far.