Vlad Dragomir has claimed he refused a contract from Arsenal and it was his decision to leave the club rather than theirs.

Vlad Dragomir arrived at Arsenal in 2015 with a name so cool we were all dying for him to succeed.

Five years later, he’s plying his trade for Perugia in Serie B and he’s keen for people to know it was his decision to leave London.

“Yes, I noticed what was said then,” he replied when asked about the rumours Arsenal had got rid of him. “But I don’t really notice these things.

“The truth matters: It was my decision to leave there, to move completely. I can say that I refused a contract from them.

“Arsenal wanted to extend, yes. But, I stayed and thought about what I really want and on the street I want to go, and in the last year it was shown that I made the right decision.”

Once dubbed ‘Mesut Ozil’s heir’ by the press in Romania, Dragomir was signed by Arsenal for €115,000 but released last summer when the new management team came in. It was claimed at the time he would be unlikely to make it as a first-team regular at the club and Unai Emery and co. made the decision to let him leave.

He made 33 appearances for Arsenal’s u23 side, scoring six and assisting two. With a further four assists and one goal in 14 u18 appearances, the Timsoaran never played a single minute for the seniors which is a shame because his name is awesome.

Dragomir certainly seems to be enjoying his football in Italy. At the start of the season he was hailed after his performance against Chievo as ‘Master of the Universe’. Back in March they were raving about his ‘7 lungs’.

He’s still only 20.