Arsenal Signs Georgian Teenager Andria Bartishvili for 2027

Arsenal have beaten Liverpool to the signing of highly rated Georgian teenager Andria Bartishvili, with Fabrizio Romano confirming the deal is now formally complete and locked in for 2027.

It’s a move that underlines exactly where Arsenal are right now. Four forwards have walked out of the door in recent days – Ethan Nwaneri to Borussia Dortmund on loan, Gabriel Jesus to Barcelona in a £12m deal including add-ons, Gabriel Martinelli to Al-Hilal for £60m, and Fabio Vieira to Hamburg for £8.6m. No direct replacements have arrived for that departing quartet.

Yet nobody is talking about a crisis at the Emirates.

Mikel Arteta’s squad still looks stacked, still looks balanced, still looks like the benchmark. While Liverpool can point to several world-class operators who would stroll into Arsenal’s starting XI, the depth behind them at Anfield tells a different story. Few genuinely see the Reds as title contenders right now. Arsenal? They look built to stay at the top.

And they’re planning to stay there.

This summer’s business has carried a clear dual message. Arsenal have moved for proven, peak-age players like Ezri Konsa and Bruno Guimaraes, both 28, to keep the engine roaring in the present. At the same time, they’ve quietly locked down a deal that could shape their future.

That deal is Bartishvili.

Both Arsenal and Liverpool chased the 17-year-old attacking midfielder over the summer, with Liverpool tabling a contract offer in their bid to lure him to Anfield. For a time, the race looked open. Then the picture changed.

On August 29, Romano delivered his trademark “here we go” and effectively ended the suspense. Posting on X, he announced that Arsenal had agreed a deal to sign Bartishvili, describing him as a “17 year old Georgian talent” with a medical booked in London and a five-year contract waiting for his signature.

The structure of the move is unusual but deliberate. Bartishvili will not join immediately. Instead, he will arrive in June 2027, once he turns 18, in a transfer worth €4.5m from Geo Team. Arsenal are buying tomorrow, well before it arrives.

Romano followed up days later, revealing that Bartishvili was already travelling to London to complete the formalities and undergo his medical. The final piece dropped into place on Friday morning, when Romano confirmed that the youngster had passed his medical and that the deal was now “formally sealed”.

“Georgian talent Andria Bartishvili can be considered a new Arsenal player,” Romano wrote, adding that the midfielder will join the first team in the summer of 2027 when he turns 18.

So while rivals scramble for quick fixes, Arsenal have quietly secured a player they believe can grow into their next generation. Liverpool pushed. Arsenal closed. And in three years’ time, we’ll find out just how significant this tug-of-war really was.