Arsenal confirm 1st summer signing | OneFootball

Arsenal have completed the signing of 18-year-old goalkeeper Lucas Nygaard, the club have officially confirmed.

Lucas Nygaard signing for Arsenal (Photo via Arsenal.com)

Arsenal made the unexpected announcement of their first summer signing on Thursday, confirming that Lucas Nygaard has joined the club.

Nygaard was most recently a goalkeeper for FC Nordsjaelland, though he left the club earlier this year. As a result, the teenager was a free agent able to sign for the Gunners as soon as he had his 18th birthday on June 26th.

Before signing permanently, Nygaard spent some time on trial with the Gunners as well as PSG, but he’s now put pen to paper on a professional contract.

The goalkeeper is a Denmark youth international, playing for the side at u16, u17, and u18 levels.

WOLVERHAMPTON, ENGLAND: Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta during the Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Arsenal FC at Molineux on April 20, 2024. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)

“I’m really pleased to finally be here,” Nygaard told Arsenal.com. “I have a good feeling in my stomach.

“As you all know, Arsenal is a big football club and I was really happy when my dad told me there was some interest and I was going here on a trial.

“I’m a modern goalkeeper who likes to play with my feet. I’m also good on the line, making great saves.

“I played for FC Nordsjaelland who also like the goalkeeper to play a lot, so they did a great job developing me.

“I’m looking forward to playing games again and winning a lot of games next season while developing.

“I’ve chosen Arsenal because I could see they like to play out from the back and that feels really good. The people around the club have been really great, so it wasn’t a hard decision.”

Karl Hein holds the ball after a save for Arsenal (Photo via Arsenal on Twitter)

This is certainly a good time to be joining Arsenal as a youth goalkeeper, with the club having released a lot of their former goalkeepers and with uncertainty around their senior trio.

Karl Hein has signed a new deal, but he’s expected to go on loan this season. David Raya is still officially only on loan from Brentford, and Aaron Ramsdale has regularly been linked with a permanent transfer.

Even if Raya and Ramsdale both stay, their current participation at Euro 2024 makes it doubtful they’ll be available for Arsenal in the early stages of pre-season.

It looks like Nygaard could now be in line for an opportunity if all goes well.