Arsenal Secures Bartishvili for Future Success Through 2027

Arsenal have already completed their first signing for 2027 – and they’ve done it by beating Liverpool to one of Europe’s most talked‑about teenage prospects.

While the deadline-day noise focused on exits, Arsenal quietly moved years down the line. Ethan Nwaneri, Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli and Fabio Vieira all departed in quick succession, leaving Mikel Arteta without four attacking options and, on paper, with a thinner forward line.

On the pitch, though, his squad still looks ominous. Arsenal’s starting XI is stacked, their bench loaded with international quality, and their rivals know it. Liverpool can still call on several world-class players who would walk into most teams, Arsenal included, but the depth at Anfield is nowhere near as convincing. Few would seriously place them alongside the champions as equal title contenders right now.

Arsenal, in contrast, are operating like a club planning to stay at the top for a long time. Ezri Konsa and Bruno Guimaraes have arrived to deliver immediately at 28, but the recruitment drive hasn’t lost sight of the next wave. The latest move underlines that.

Arsenal win race for Georgian prodigy

All summer, Arsenal and Liverpool chased the same name: Andria Bartishvili. The 17-year-old Georgian attacking midfielder has been on the radar of Europe’s elite, and Liverpool went as far as putting a contract offer on the table.

They lost him.

Bartishvili is heading to the Premier League champions instead, a decision confirmed step by step by Fabrizio Romano as the deal moved from interest to agreement, then to medicals and signatures.

On August 29, Romano delivered his trademark confirmation on X, announcing that Arsenal had agreed a deal to sign the 17-year-old. Bartishvili, he reported, had a medical booked in London and a five-year contract waiting for him. The fee: €4.5m, with the teenager set to join when he turns 18 in 2027.

The process accelerated from there. Days later, Romano revealed Bartishvili was travelling to the capital to complete the formalities and undergo his medical, with an agreement in place for the Georgian to link up with Arsenal from June 2027.

Now the final piece has dropped into place. On Friday morning, Romano stated that Bartishvili has passed his medical and that the transfer can be considered “formally sealed”. Arsenal regard him as a first-team signing from the summer of 2027, not just another academy punt.

So while the rest of the league scramble for short-term fixes, Arsenal have quietly secured a 17-year-old creator that both they and Liverpool believed was worth fighting for.

The champions are building a squad for today. Deals like Bartishvili’s suggest they’re already thinking about the team that will be defending titles three years from now.