Arsenal Raid Future Market to Beat Liverpool

Arsenal have already dipped into the future – and beaten Liverpool to it.

While the Premier League champions were waving off four forwards in quick succession, the club’s recruitment team quietly locked in a deal that won’t bear fruit until 2027. The message is clear: Mikel Arteta’s era is built to last.

Arsenal raid future market to beat Liverpool

Ethan Nwaneri to Borussia Dortmund on loan. Gabriel Jesus to Barcelona for £12m including add-ons. Gabriel Martinelli to Al-Hilal for £60m. Fabio Vieira to Hamburg for £8.6m. Four attacking exits, no immediate replacements.

Yet Arteta’s squad still looks loaded. Deep, flexible, and, for now, out of reach for their rivals.

Liverpool can still field a sprinkling of world-class names capable of walking into Arsenal’s XI. What they cannot match at the moment is the sheer depth that has turned the Gunners into the benchmark. Few genuinely see the Reds as title favourites this season; Arsenal, by contrast, carry that expectation.

And even as Arsenal plug the present with signings like Ezri Konsa and Bruno Guimaraes, both 28, they are already stitching together the next generation.

The latest piece? Andria Bartishvili.

Georgian prodigy chooses Arsenal over Liverpool

Both Arsenal and Liverpool chased the 17-year-old Georgian attacking midfielder over the summer. Liverpool went as far as putting a contract offer on the table.

It wasn’t enough.

On August 29, Fabrizio Romano delivered his trademark verdict on X, confirming that Bartishvili had chosen Arsenal. His post was emphatic:

“Arsenal agree deal to sign 17 year old Georgian talent Andria Bartishvili, here we go! 17 year old midfielder has medical booked in London at #AFC next week then signing a five year contract. He’s joining from 2027 when turning 18. Deal worth €4.5m. @Geo_team.”

The structure of the move underlines how far ahead Arsenal are planning. Bartishvili cannot join until he turns 18, so the agreement is locked in for June 2027, when he will link up with the first team.

Romano later confirmed the teenager was travelling to London to complete the formalities, stating that the deal for the “17 year old Georgian talent” was agreed and that he would join Arsenal from June 2027.

On Friday morning, the final box was ticked.

Deal sealed for 2027 arrival

“Georgian talent Andria Bartishvili can be considered a new Arsenal player,” Romano announced on X, adding that the medical had been completed, the contract was set to be signed and the deal “formally sealed”.

Bartishvili will report straight into the Arsenal first team in the summer of 2027, when he turns 18.

Liverpool tried to lure him. Arsenal locked him in years in advance.

Champions in the present, and already stockpiling for the next cycle – how long can anyone keep pace with that?