OFFICIAL: Cedric Soares completes Arsenal move

The 28 year-old Portuguese defender has joined Arsenal, the Gunners have confirmed. 

The Southampton player moves to the Emirates on loan for the rest of the season and has plenty of experience on the big stage. He has been at Southampton since 2015 and has made 138 appearances for them while he has also got 33 caps for Portugal. Just a few minutes after Arsenal's tweet, Southampton also confirmed the news wishing Cedric all the best and stating that a "significant loan fee" had been paid for the player.

He was part of the team which won Euro 2016 in France and he participated in the 2018 World Cup. Cedric began his career at Sporting Lisbon before making his senior debut at the age of 19. He has also been at Academica and Inter Milan. 

Edu, Arsenal's technical director, gave Arsenal fans an idea of what they would be getting: “Cedric is a defender with good experience of the Premier League, and of course at international level. He is another strong addition to our defensive unit who will provide our squad with quality. I know he is a player who plays with absolute full commitment and energy. We are all looking forward to going into the last stages of the season with Cedric as part of the club.”

Cedric is the Gunners' second signing of the January window after that of Pablo Mari from Flamengo last Wednesday. Two players who will give Arsenal some much needed defensive solidity for the rest of the season after conceding 34 goals in their opening 24 Premier League matches.

"For me, Arsenal are a top team. They are a very, very good club, with fantastic fans as well," Cedric told the club's official website. "They are known to be so well supported and for me, it's a pleasure to be here. Like I said, it's a dream come true because I always thought about coming here and imagined it, and seeing it happen is really amazing.

"I've been watching the last couple of weeks as well. You can see that something changed, definitely. There is a lot of work to do but definitely already his ideas have started to appear in the game, that is good. I am sure Arsenal will be very successful."

 

January 31, 2020

 

January 31, 2020