Experienced defender Alvaro Arbeloa has joined West Ham United on a one-year contract.

The 33-year-old had been available on a free transfer after leaving Real Madrid earlier this summer and it is understood that West Ham have beaten a host of clubs to his signature.

Arbeloa, who spent two years with Liverpool between 2007 and 2009, underwent a medical with the London club on Wednesday night before signing on the dotted line.

"I am really happy to be here in a great club in a great league," Arbeloa told West Ham TV. "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 [Bilic] 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."

Arbeloa made 233 appearances for Real Madrid during his second spell with the Spanish giants, but he only featured nine times last season before departing on a free transfer at the end of the 2015-16 campaign.