Arsenal complete The Signing of £540k Rekik

The former Manchester City and PSV youth player has opted to continue his career at the Gunners after completing a move from Hertha Berlin

Arsenal have completed the signing of Omar Rekik from Hertha Berlin.

The 19-year-old will join the Gunners' Under 23s side after penning a professional contract with the club.

Bild reports Arsenal have agreed to pay Hertha around £540,000 to land the centre-back, who had periods in the youth academies of Feyenoord, PSV, Manchester City and Marseille before joining the German side.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta confirmed on Thursday that the defender's arrival was all but complete, telling reporters at a press conference: "He’s a young talent that we’ve been following for a while that we believe has a really bright future."

The Tunisia Under 21 international is yet to make his senior debut, having played regularly in the fourth-tier of German football with Hertha Berlin II this season, but he was an unused substitute in three Bundesliga matches last season.

"It feels great to be here after a long time of hard work. It feels great. I moved in three weeks ago and I’ve been in quarantine, so I can’t wait to get started," Rekik told Arsenal's website.

"The warmth of the people and the interest that they showed in me, and of course, when a club like Arsenal is interested, I don’t think anyone needs to think twice.

"I’m a winner. I always want to win, and that’s with everything, not only football, ever since I was a kid. My style of play? I’m a central defender and I like to play with the ball, I like to play out from the back, and I think this is also the structure of the club. It fits perfectly."

Rekik says Arsenal's playing style played a key role in his choosing to continue his career in north London.

"With Mikel Arteta, if you watch the games, he’s not a coach who thinks quickly to play a long ball. Of course, when needed, you have to do it, but I think the style of play fits," he added.

As a young player, you need to play somewhere where they’re not afraid to give you a chance and you can see a lot of youth players have broken through here, and I want to be the next one."

Rekik, who is the north London side's first signing of the January transfer window, was linked with a move to the English capital in the summer transfer window, but a move did not materialise.

The Gunners recently loaned out defender William Saliba, who has linked up with Nice for the rest of the season.

Comments

'I Tried My Best' - Arsenal Boss Arteta Believes He Did All He Could To Include Axed Ozil

The 32-year-old did not feature for the Gunners after lockdown and was subsequently omitted from the club's 25-man Premier League squad. Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta believes he did all he could to give Mesut Ozil a fair shot before he axed the German from his squad. Ozil's name was not among Arsenal's 25-man Premier League squad that was released earlier this month, which followed the playmaker's exclusion from Arsenal's Europa League squad. As the 32-year-old enters the final months of his contract with the Gunners, it now appears likely that he has played his final game for the team. Ozil did play a part for Arsenal last season, at one point starting 10 consecutive Premier League games for the Gunners before the coronavirus lockdown in March. The playmaker did not make a single appearance for Arsenal after lockdown, however, but Arteta has still insisted he gave Ozil every chance to impress before he was omitted from his team. "What I can tell you that I...

Arteta Must Be Strong To Survive Allegri Rumours’ – Arsenal Boss Can’t Show Weakness, Says Smith

The former Gunners striker has urged an under-fire Spaniard to prove that he is the right man for the job and end links to an ex-Juventus coach Alan Smith claims it is “an open secret” that former Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri is being recommended to Arsenal amid their ongoing struggles, with Mikel Arteta told he is going to have to show no weakness in order to “survive” the rumours. The Gunners have continued to stumble out of the blocks in 2020-21, with their worst start made to a Premier League campaign. Inability to establish any kind of momentum has the north London outfit languishing in the bottom-half of the table and glancing anxiously over their shoulder at the drop zone below them. Unsurprisingly, questions are being asked of Arteta’s ongoing presence, with a rookie coach finding out the hard way just how tough life at the top can be. Arsenal have offered no indication that they are contemplating another managerial change, but Smith says potential successors – including ...

Arsenal's £72m Enigma: Arteta Right To Demand More From Mercurial Pepe

The Gunners' record signing may have scored his third goal of the season on Thursday night but his manager wants consistency across 90 minutes. Mikel Arteta’s answer was clear when asked what Nicolas Pepe needed to show in order to earn himself a regular starting spot in Arsenal's Premier League team. “Consistency,” said the Arsenal boss, when quizzed on the Gunners’ record signing, following Thursday’s night’s 4-1 Europa League win against Molde at the Emirates Stadium. It was a game that perfectly encapsulated the enigma that is Pepe. The £72 million ($95m) man was infuriating at times - especially in the first half - but just as he had done against Dundalk a week earlier, he popped up with an excellent goal. He also went on to add an assist for Joe Willock, a late strike which sealed a comfortable victory for Arteta’s side and all but booked Arsenal’s passage into the knockout stages. It was a classic Pepe performance and more evidence of why he remains such a puzzle in nort...

WELCOME TO GIST CORRIDOR

Search This Blog