Catalin Cirjan has signed a new contract with Arsenal, with the club also confirming his recovery from a serious knee injury.

Catalin Cirjan signing his new contract with Arsenal (Photo via Arsenal Academy on Twitter)
Catalin Cirjan signing his new contract with Arsenal (Photo via Arsenal Academy on Twitter)

Arsenal posted on the club website on Wednesday to confirm that Catalin Cirjan has signed a new contract. The youngster joined in 2019, before signing his first professional deal in 2020.

FIFA restrict first professional deals to a maximum length of three years. As a result, Cirjan would have been out of contract by next summer, so now is a good time for a new deal.

Another justification for an extension is that Arsenal add that Cirjan has recently recovered from his knee injury.

The 19-year-old hasn’t played since April 2021, but it looks like he’ll finally be back in action when the new season kicks off.

Cirjan had made a strong start to his Arsenal youth career, impressing with the u18s enough to earn 14 u23 appearances last season.

A midfielder who can also play out wide, Cirjan is very technical and a hard worker off the ball. He’ll chase down lost causes and press opponents into mistakes, so he’s well suited to a Mikel Arteta side in that regard.

Catalin Cirjan (R) with Per Mertesacker after signing his new contract (Photo via Arsenal Academy on Twitter)
Catalin Cirjan (R) with Per Mertesacker after signing his new contract (Photo via Arsenal Academy on Twitter)

For now, the teenager will be taking things step by step. If he can get involved with the u23s in pre-season and play regularly for the side in the upcoming campaign, he can then start to think about his first-team ambitions after that.