by Lee Hurley

Arsenal’s first ever Romanian signing, Vlad Dragomir, revealed that Arsene Wenger said ‘welcome to paradise‘ when he signed for the Gunners.

The 16-year-old, who is hailed as the next best thing from the country, was revealed as an arsenal player this week although the deal was apparently completed in April.

Vlad Dragomir pictured with Dick Law (right) after signing for Arsenal
Vlad Dragomir pictured with Dick Law (right) after signing for Arsenal

In an article in his home country, and translated by a Redditor (original), Dragomir said

“We met, he shook my hand and he really told me, with a small hint of an accent, ‘Welcome to Paradise’. And it really seems like paradise! Everything is perfect here, and I hope I can integrate quickly and earn everybody’s trust.”

Already introduced the members of the senior team, Vlad added “They are very sociable. I only trained once with the u16s, but I can already feel the difference. It’s an intense game of football, exactly how I like it. At the canteen I met Alexis Sanchez and Ozil. They came towards me and shook my hand.”

Vlad signed for a fee of £71,000 and we would imagine it will be a few years before we see him near the first team. Then again, if his skillset is as good as reported, you just never know…

It is hard to imagine Wenger *actually* saying the words ‘Welcome to paradise’ but it is amusing to do so therefore we are just going to assume that he did.