West Ham United have confirmed that they have completed the signing of Alvaro Arbeloa on a free transfer with the right-back signing a one-year deal.
The Hammers confirmed earlier on deadline day that they were in talks with a Spanish World Cup winning defender over a transfer and the club have now confirmed Arbeloa’s arrival in East London.
The 33-year-old is the club’s 12th summer signing and makes the move on a free transfer, after leaving Real Madrid at the end of last season following the expiration of his contract.
Speaking on the transfer Arbeloa has indicated he is looking forward to playing in the Premier League again and is keen to start work under Slaven Bilic.
Arbeloa told the club’s official website: “I am really happy to be here in a great Club in a great league. I’m really happy to be back in England and, for me, it’s a great chance and I’m looking forward to playing with this side.
“The Stadium is amazing. It’s really nice and looks fantastic. Hopefully I’m going to see the Stadium full with all our fans and I’m really happy to be here.
“For me, this is a great chance to be back in England and in the Premier League, which is a fantastic league and I want to put myself here again. This is a big Club and a great Club with fantastic players and a great coach.
“Slaven wants to see me training as soon as possible. I was talking with [Croatia internationals] Luka Modric and Matteo Kovacic and they told me good things about the coach, so I want to work with him and hopefully I can learn a lot of things.”
The Spaniard will wear the No.5 shirt at the London Stadium and Arbeloa will battle Sam Byram for the starting berth at West Ham.
Bilic was keen to bring in an experienced right-back this summer after his experiment with Michail Antonio in the position appeared to fail. The winger had a poor game against Chelsea at the start of the season which signalled the end of his time in the role.
Arbeloa’s experience will prove vital for the Hammers as they look to improve on their seventh placed finish last campaign.
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