Joao Virginia has signed his first professional contract with Arsenal.

The Portuguese goalkeeper has been part of his national team’s youth squads since an under-16 level and even represented his country at the Olympics in Rio 2016.

The 17-year-old currently is highly rated and was even linked with a move to Manchester United last year instead of the Gunners.

The goalkeeper is currently part of our u18 squad but has also made appearances for our u19s so is clearly a capable player.

Virginia joined the Gunners initially from Benfica in 2015 but has now decided to put pen to paper in a professional, long-term deal.

Although we’ve not seen much of what the goalkeeper can do, now that he’s tied down to a proper contract there’s a chance we could sooner rather than later.

Having another talented shot-stopper at the club can only be a good thing and his involvement in the Olympics shows he can cut it at the top level.

Congratulations to Joao.