Arsenal sign central defender Sébastien Squillaci

 According to the Guardian and the BBC, Arsenal have secured the signature of French international defender Sébastien Squillaci, recently of Sevilla.  Although there has been no official announcment on the club website, Arsène Wenger confirmed the transfer at his press conference today.

The defender, who turned 30 two weeks ago, has reportedly been offered a three-year deal, which seems to skirt the edge of Arsenal's policy of not giving players 30 and over multi-year contracts, as the BBC points out.

Wenger stated that Squillaci, who has not played yet this season, will not be available for Saturday's match at Blackburn.  "We needed a centre-back of quality and experience if possible, and at the right price – he was all of that," the manager said.

More thoughts on the signing tomorrow in the Blackburn preview, but for now, it is a boost for a central defending corps that has been missing the injured Johan Djourou since the start of the season.  Squillaci's experience will provide excellent cover for the Swiss and for recent signing Laurent Koscielny.