Manchester United have officially confirmed that youngster James Scanlon has agreed a transfer to Premier League rivals Arsenal.
The 19-year-old attacking midfielder has been in the Man Utd academy since 2021, and was previously also on the books at Derby County.
However, he will now continue his career progression at Arsenal, as confirmed by the Red Devils on their official site today.
This follows a recent report from the Telegraph about the Gunners pursuing the signing of Scanlon from United this summer.
Scanlon doesn’t necessarily look like someone who’ll go straight into Mikel Arteta’s first-team, but he could be an exciting talent to watch out for for the future.
Arsenal continue to sign young talents who can grow in value
Arsenal have a notoriously poor record when it comes to selling players, so that’s surely an area they’ll be keen to improve on.
With a signing like Scanlon, they possibly have the potential to make a big profit on him in the future, even if he doesn’t make much of an impact in their first-team.
Arsenal have done some similar deals to this in recent months, such as the one below for Jaden Dixon, as reported by Fabrizio Romano…
???? EXCLUSIVE: Arsenal agree deal to sign England U19 international Jaden Dixon on a four-year deal.
Deal completed for £3.2m plus add-ons. Arsenal view the player as a massive signing beating several clubs to the signings. pic.twitter.com/9z5oX5SEKf
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) February 2, 2026
Meanwhile, the Athletic have also reported on Arsenal targeting a move for Axel Donczew, who became Cardiff City’s youngest ever player last season.
And just earlier today, Arsenal agreed the signing of Andria Bartishvili – a talented 17-year-old Georgian player who will move to the Emirates Stadium when he turns 18 next year.
? EXCL: ANDRIA BARTISHVILI TO ARSENAL FC – DEAL DONE ????
Per my information, 17 y.o midfielder set to fly in London on September 1 for medical ?
5 y. Deal for Georgian ??
Transfer fee – 4.5M ?
The gunners beat Liverpool FC in race for Bartishvili ? pic.twitter.com/xaQRHyB0bH
— Geo Team (@Geo__team) August 29, 2026
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Arsenal have also strengthened their first-team with established stars like Bruno Guimaraes and Ezri Konsa, but it will be interesting to see what other deals like this they also pursue in the near future.
It’s an area in which AFC have lagged behind their rivals, with the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City making huge sums of money this summer from selling numerous unwanted players.
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