Omar Rekik canāt wait to step out in Arsenal colours for the first time.
The 19-year-old became our first academy signing of the January transfer window on Thursday as he joined us from Hertha Berlin, but now heās desperate to get out on the pitch and prove his worth.
We spoke to Rekik after completing his move to north London - and hereās what he had to say:
on how it feels to join Arsenalā¦
It feels great to be here after a long time of hard work. It feels great. I moved in three weeks ago and Iāve been in quarantine, so I canāt wait to get started.
on why he chose Arsenalā¦
The warmth of the people and the interest that they showed in me, and of course, when a club like Arsenal is interested, I donāt think anyone needs to think twice.
on what the fans can expect from himā¦
Iām a winner. I always want to win, and thatās with everything, not only football, ever since I was a kid. My style of play? Iām 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.
on whether Arsenalās style of play was important in his decisionā¦
Of course! With Mikel Arteta, if you watch the games, heās 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.
on whether our history of giving young players opportunities appealed to himā¦
Of course. As a young player, you need to play somewhere where theyāre 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.
on his Bundesliga experience with Hertha Berlinā¦
At Hertha I had a lot of experiences, good and bad, but Iām happy for even the bad ones because it makes you into the person and character that you are. Iāve experienced a lot there. I had three good seasons there and Iām very happy.
on what he hopes to achieve between now and the end of the seasonā¦
I just take things day by day. Iām here now and I have to work harder and show them what I can do and what Iām capable of. When I do this, my qualities will show on the pitch and then hopefully I can get a chance.
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