Arsenal secure Cédric Soares on loan from Southampton
Mikel Arteta's Arsenal have boosted their depleted defence with Cédric Soares, who becomes their second acquisition of the winter transfer window.
Cédric Soares has joined Arsenal on loan from Southampton until the end of the season, the Gunners confirmed this morning. The Portuguese right-back comes in to strengthen a depleted Arsenal defence, which was also boosted by the addition of Pablo Marí earlier this week. Cédric has made 138 appearances for Southampton since joining from Sporting Clube de Portugal in 2015 and spent time on loan at Inter Milan last season.
"For me, Arsenal are a top team. They are a very, very good club, with fantastic fans as well," Cédric, whose move is subject to the completion of regulatory processes, told the club's official website. "They are known to be so well supported and for me, it's a pleasure to be here. Like I said, it's a dream come true because I always thought about coming here and imagined it, and seeing it happen is really amazing."
Arteta turning Arsenal's fortunes around
Asked about new Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta's positive effect on the team, he added: "It's good to watch. I've been watching the last couple of weeks as well. You can see that something changed, definitely. There is a lot of work to do but definitely already his ideas have started to appear in the game, that is good. I am sure Arsenal will be very successful."
Cédric has made 33 appearances for Portugal, and was part of the team that won Euro 2016; he also featured at the 2018 World Cup.