Between a row of white apartment buildings and an artificial pitch set into the green hills of Berio in San Sebastian that Antiguoko now call home, there is a strip of land where Mikel Arteta, Xabi Alonso and Andoni Iraola learned their craft.
Mikel Arteta and Arsenal are landing one of Europe’s top young talents (Picture: Carl Recine/Getty Images) Andria Bartishvili has completed a medical with his move to Arsenal set to be completed this weekend. The Gunners have seen off interest from Liverpool and other top clubs from around Europe to land the Georgian wonderkid who flew into London on Thursday, as reported by Geo Team. The 17-year-old has now completed his medical and will now sign a five-year contract at the Emirates. Bartishvili, who has been christened ‘the new Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’, will officially join Arsenal next summer, turning 18 in March next year. Exclusive Premier League previews Get ahead of the start of the season with our weekly football newsletter. Sign up now for free. The teenager will arrive from Georgian side Kolkheti 1913 and has been hailed ‘new Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’. After he was pictured travelling to the capital this week, Bartishvili took to Instagram to pass on his gratitude for the kind messages he had received ahead of his move to Arsenal. ‘A very big thank you to everyone for the congratulations,’ he wrote. 🚨🔴⚪️ BREAKING: Andria Bartishvili has completed his medical as a Arsenal FC new player. 🩺✅The 17-year-old Georgian talent is set to put pen to paper on a 5-year deal with AFC tomorrow. ✍🏻🇬🇪Congratulations, Gooners — Georgia’s gem is yours. 💎 pic.twitter.com/wM2XUh7NBl— Geo Team (@Geo__team) September 3, 2026 Arsenal will be hopeful Bartishvili can replicate the rise of his countryman Kvaratskhelia, who emerged as one of the best wingers in world football following his rise at Napoli and Paris Saint-Germain. In June, former France and Bayern Munich defender Willy Sagnol – now in charge of the Georgian national team – picked Bartishvili out as a special talent. But Sagnol was keen to stress that talent alone was not a gurantee of the young star making it to the highest level. https://www.instagram.com/p/DZ-wQMzjXKL/?hl=en&img_index=1 ‘I watched the youth team play, Bartishvili is a very talented player,’ Sagnol explained. ‘However, for a talented player to take a step forward in his career, technique alone is not enough. ‘The right mindset is needed, and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is an example of this. ‘Hopefully, Andria and the other young players will continue to work and develop to become great players in the future.’ Arsenal have made a number additions of their academy this summer with Igor Tyjon, Vincent Joseph, Axel Donczew, Elijah Upson and Mylo Bernard joining the ranks. Comment now Comments Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source
My daughter's old maths teacher, Mr Fields, is an Ipswich fan and he is very excited about how ambitious the club has been since getting promoted. Ipswich have spent almost £200m on a stack of new signings to try to stay in the Premier League and, watching them, it is clear they are not just planning to park the bus. It will be interesting to see if new signing Bradley Barcola starts for the Reds, who seem to have a lot of attacking players who like to play off the left.
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