Arsenal Signs Georgian Prodigy Bartishvili for 2027

Arsenal have already dipped into the future and come back with a prize. Andria Bartishvili, the 17-year-old Georgian attacking midfielder courted by Liverpool, can now be considered an Arsenal player for 2027.

Fabrizio Romano confirmed on Friday morning that Bartishvili has completed his medical in London and agreed a five-year deal with the Premier League champions. The teenager will officially join the first team in the summer of 2027, once he turns 18.

Romano’s trademark “here we go” dropped on August 29, when he first revealed Arsenal had struck an agreement to sign the highly rated prospect. The deal is worth €4.5m, with Bartishvili leaving his current club to step into Arsenal’s system once he is eligible.

Liverpool had also put a contract on the table. They pushed for the player over the summer and saw him as a long-term attacking option. Arsenal, though, won the race, adding another line to an increasingly familiar story: when the two clubs go head-to-head for a target, it is the champions who tend to walk away smiling.

The timing of the move is striking. Arsenal have just waved goodbye to four forwards in quick succession: 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 walked through the door for now.

Yet Mikel Arteta’s squad still looks loaded. Rivals look at Arsenal’s depth and see a benchmark, even after that attacking clear-out. Liverpool, by contrast, still boast several players who would stroll into Arsenal’s XI, but their bench tells a different story. The sense around Anfield is of a side short of genuine title credentials, at least compared to the machine Arteta has built.

That’s the backdrop to this signing. Arsenal are operating in two timeframes at once. They have brought in ready-made pieces like Ezri Konsa and Bruno Guimaraes, both 28, to keep the title window wide open right now. At the same time, they are quietly stacking the deck for the next cycle.

Bartishvili is part of that second wave.

Romano first outlined the structure of the agreement on X: Arsenal had booked the youngster’s medical in London, lined up a five-year contract, and agreed that he would join from June 2027 when he turns 18. A few days later, he reported that Bartishvili was travelling to the capital to finalise the move.

The final step is now complete. Medical done. Contract ready. Deal “formally sealed,” as Romano put it.

Arsenal have locked in one of Georgia’s brightest young talents for the next era of Arteta’s project, and they have done it at Liverpool’s expense.

The champions are already strong enough for today. The real question is what this squad will look like when Bartishvili finally walks into London Colney in 2027.