Alexei Rojas is the latest player to sign professional terms with Arsenal, with the Gunners announcing his first pro contract on Tuesday.
Arsenal confirmed on Tuesday morning that Alexei Rojas has signed his first professional contract with the Gunners.
Rojas was out of contract with Arsenal this summer, but his presence in the squad for last week’s u21 friendly made it pretty clear he was signing a new deal and sticking around.
The goalkeeper probably would have announced the contract sooner, but he’s been away with the Colombia u20 team recently.
Rojas made two appearances for Colombia’s u20 side on a recent international break from June 27th to July 6th, but he’s now had time to return and put pen to paper to confirm his future.
“It’s an unbelievable feeling,” Rojas said of his new contract. “I feel so proud of myself and happy with the work that I’ve done over the last few years. It’s always been my dream from such a young age to finally become a professional footballer.
“Now I’m here it continues motivating me to keep working hard every day to reach my goal of becoming the best goalkeeper in the world.
“Getting into the first team is the goal of any player, even moreso at a massive club like Arsenal. One of my goals is to become a Premier League player and play at the highest level, so there’s no better place to do it.
“I’ve got to continue working on the habits to make sure I’m the most consistent person on and off the pitch.”
With Arsenal still yet to make a senior goalkeeper signing and David Raya and Aaron Ramsdale only ending their international participation on Sunday, Rojas will be one of a few goalkeepers hoping for a first-team call-up for the United States tour.
Karl Hein is an obvious pick if he hasn’t gone out on loan by then, but after that the senior options are non-existent.
Goalkeepers Rojas and Brian Okonkwo are both stepping up to the u21s from the u18s this season, 18-year-old Lucas Nygaard has just joined the club, and Tommy Setford of Ajax looks set to follow.
Unless a deal is done for Dan Bentley of Wolves before the weekend, you’d expect at least two from the above group to join Hein on tour.