The father of Borussia Dortmund defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos has revealed Arsenal burned off competition from Manchester United to sign his son.

The Gunners have reportedly agreed a £16m deal with Borussia Dortmund for the Greece international, 30.

Papastathopoulos, who is out of contract next summer, is set to pen a three-year deal at the Emirates.

And the defender's father, Charalambos, says Arsenal beat United to Papastathopoulos - because they made the first move.

“There was interest from United but he had to wait until July for them," Charalambos said.

“United have a very good relationship with Dortmund, the teams were talking more closely.

“He chose to go to Arsenal instead."