Schalke Star Is Arsenal Bound After Undergoing Medical & Agreeing Personal Terms

Arsenal have won the race to sign the much-coveted Bosnian left-back Sead Kolasinac on a free transfer from Schalke.​

According to reports in ​The Sun, the 23-year-old has already passed a medical and agreed personal terms with the North London club.

Kolasinac's Schalke contract expires on June 30 and he is expected to link up with the Gunners immediately after. Arsenal have won the race to sign him, after warding off competition for his signature from Chelsea and Juventus.

Arsenal have won the race to sign Sead Kolasinac https://t.co/8G4AUK2sZy pic.twitter.com/vvELImtVcN

— Chris Wheatley (@ChrisWheatley_) April 20, 2017

​Goal.com reports that he was “in London two weeks ago for a sponsorship event and underwent medical tests during his short stay in the capital”, while the ​Daily Mail report that he has agreed a four-year contract.
The 23-year-old has spent his entire career in the Bundesliga, but is now set for a new adventure playing in the Premier League.

He has played 117 times for the German giants, and has 18 international caps to his name, and has experience playing in the Champions League.

Kolasinac is expected to be the first of a slew of players arriving in North London, as Arsenal are preparing to overhaul their squad following a very disappointing campaign for the Gunners.

The news of a new signing comes despite the future of manager Arsene Wenger remaining up in the air. There are conflicting reports as to whether the Frenchman has signed a new contract that has been offered to him, and what the length of the supposed deal is.

Arsenal look likely to miss out on the top four for the first time in Arsene Wenger's 21 year reign. There is serious discontent in the stands, with fans fiercely divided over their manager's future. But the board appeared to have their focus elsewhere, signing players for whoever is sitting in the dugout next season.

Read More

Arsenal beat stiff competition to snap up Schalke defender Sead Kolasinac... but who is the Gunners new boy?

Arsenal have completed the signing of Sead Kolasinac from Schalke with the defender set for a move to north London on a free transfer this summer.

The Bosnian attracted interest from many Premier League and European top clubs - and was the subject of a failed bid from Chelsea in January. Manchester City, Liverpool, Everton, Juventus and Milan were all also keenly monitoring the defender.

But Arsene Wenger had been tracking the Bosnia and Herzegovina international for some time and the Gunners, after opening negotiations on Monday, staved off fierce competition to land their man.

So who is Sead Kolasinac? 

So a bit of background. The 23-year-old was raised in Karlsruhe, a city in southwest Germany bordering France. He began his youth football there and hopped to Hoffenheim and Stuttgart before landing in Schalke in 2011. 

He broke into the Schalke first team in 2012 and has been a regular at Veltins-Arena ever since. He began his youth career as a central defender or holding midfielder but has since found his home on the left-hand side.

The left back has been capped by Bosnia and Herzegovina, qualifying through his parents, 18 times since 2013. He perhaps has the bogey title as the man who scored the fastest own goal in World Cup history after he turned the ball into the net three minutes into Bosnia and Herzegovina's 2014 group stage defeat by Argentina.

Read More