Forgotten Arsenal star has contract TORN UP - Romano

Tom Weber

Updated: 31 Aug 2024 16:45 BST
3 min read

Mikel Arteta, Arsenal, 2023/24 — © IMAGO

Arsenal and Omar Rekik have agreed to a mutual contract termination, according to Fabrizio Romano.

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The forgotten Gunners defender has officially left the club. The Italian transfer expert reports that Rekik's contract was torn up on Friday after the player expressed his wish to leave the club.

Romano thus echoes FootballTransfers' exclusive reporting from earlier in the week that Rekik was poised to seal a permanent exit from the Emirates after four consecutive - and largely unsuccessful - loans.

We reported that Rekik was determined to seal a transfer and that the feeling was mutual, with Arsenal open to selling the player ahead of the August 30 deadline.

However, already at the time, we reported that only loan approaches had been made and that interest regarding a permanent transfer was few and far between. The fact that the club and player have now agreed on a termination of his deal suggests that no club was willing to pay a transfer fee for him.

Rekik's unfulfilled potential

Rekik had originally joined Arsenal from Hertha BSC in January 2021 despite not having made a single senior appearance for the German side. Nevertheless, he still arrived with the reputation of being a talented youngster.

However, after loan moves to Sparta Rotterdam and Wigan Athletic, he was still not ready for the Gunners' first team and moved to Servette in Switzerland.

READ MORE: Latest Arsenal transfer news

Unfortunately for him, the Super League side missed the player registration deadline and he was thus not eligible to feature for the club during his six months in Geneva. Naturally, his loan was not made permanent in the summer and he returned to Arsenal.

There was renewed loan interest from 2. Bundesliga side Jahn Regensburg and League One outfit Charlton Athletic in recent times, but Arsenal and the player were keen on a permanent solution.