New Arsenal signing set to join next year watches Liverpool draw at Emirates Stadium

Victor Ozhianvuna is set to join Arsenal from Shamrock Rovers in January 2027 once he has turned 18 years old

Arsenal's latest coup Victor Ozhianvuna was in the stands at the Emirates Stadium to watch his new club draw 0-0 with Liverpool on Thursday evening.

The Gunners restored their six-point lead at the top of the Premier League following the stalemate but blew the chance to extend their lead on Manchester City to eight points.

Still, Ozhianvuna was able to get a feel of his new surroundings as he prepares to join Arsenal from Shamrock Rovers this time next year, once he has turned 18.

As per Brexit regulations, English clubs are not permitted to sign players from countries within the EU until they've reached the age of 18.

Ozhianvuna, an exciting attacking midfielder who can also play across the forward line or out wide, joins in a deal worth in the region of £1.75million.

There are also performance-related add-ons plus a sell-on clause included within the agreement with Shamrock. Arsenal are making a big collective internal push to invest in top young talent for the future.

In December, the Gunners struck an agreement with Ecuadorian side Independiente del Valle to sign teenage brothers Edwin and Holger Quintero. The combined fee for the pair could yet reach £9million if various bonuses are met.

The two starlets will join on five-year contracts once they have turned 18 in August 2027. Meanwhile, Arsenal are continuing to monitor Blackburn Rovers forward Igor Tyjon.

The 17-year-old, who featured in the Carabao Cup for Rovers earlier this season, is approaching the end of his scholarship deal at Ewood Park. Arsenal made two approaches for the player last summer but couldn't agree a deal.

It's not yet out of the question that they could move again for the highly-rated England U18 international this month.

Mikel Arteta did not think a draw was the end of the world against Liverpool. The Spaniard said: "We know that the margins are very small. I think we have two different halves.

"The first one, where we have a lot of domination, created big situations with players almost inside the six-yard box to pick a player up, and we didn't find the right pass to score the goal. And the second half was a bit more of a struggle.

"This game needs some magic moments, and at Anfield, [Dominik] Szoboszlai did it, and they won the game, and today it didn't happen, but you cannot win it, you cannot lose it.

"We have some moments where we have the right positional advantages to really hurt them, and then when we got into these areas, we lacked quality to pick the players.

"We've come from a very demanding schedule. The last six games that we've played in this Christmas period, and we've come out of that in a really strong position."