Steve Tandy has snapped up the 23-year-old for one season, with the option of extending his stay, to provide cover during the international windows.
It’s the latest Eastern-European import to the Welsh regions after Cardiff Blues brought in Romanian props Andrei Ursache and Petru Tamba last week.
“We’ve seen him, seems like a good lad and he’s happy with what we want and hopefully we can get a real quality player out of him, said Tandy.
“Fingers crossed he may get some LV=Cup opportunities to bring him up to speed as quickly as we can as I’m sure we’ll lose a few due to international duty.
“We’re always talking about how positive our front 5 are and I’m sure we’ll lose a large portion of our pack but we will need a little bit of cover there.
“You’ve got to look everywhere else, with the salary cap and things, and with budgets, you’ve got to make best of what you’ve got and to fit into that salary cap. We’ve got to scour all parts to try and get to where we want to go. We’ve got a limited amount of resources.”
The 19-times Moldovan-capped Arhip started his career at Kishniev Blue Marine before moving to Romanian giants Dinamo Bucharest.
In 2011 he won the Super League title with Yenisey-STM Krasnoyarsk of Russia, and aims to repeat the feat in this year’s final before he completes his move to Ospreylia in early November.
“Dimitri will be with us at the start of November and his arrival will be quite timely as we are likely to lose a number of front row players to international duty,” added Andy Lloyd, Rugby Operations Manager.
“When that is the case, it’s important to ensure we have the strength of depth that will allow us to remain competitive as a group regardless of international commitments, and with the size of our contribution to the Welsh squad we felt that it was appropriate to bring Dmitri in.
“His versatility will be a huge asset as he will cover three positions, giving the coaches extra options. He is an immensely strong, powerful player, and we are looking forward to welcoming him to the region.”
