Surprise Arsenal transfer exit confirmed as Edu continues squad clearout

Arsenal have reportedly agreed to let young midfielder Tim Akinola join Qatari outfit Al Bidda on a permanent basis

Arsenal youngster Tim Akinola has agreed a three-year contract with Qatari side Al Bidda, according to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano.

Writing on X (formerly known as Twitter), Romano said: "Qatari side Al Bidda SC are set to unveil Tim Akinola as new signing from Arsenal on permanent deal #AFC Akinola has already signed three year contract at Al Bidda, Arsenal gave the green light earlier this week."

Akinola spent the 2022/23 campaign on loan with Chesterfield in the National League, where he featured 31 times across all competitions. But at 22 years old, it became clear that he was too old for youth football whilst also not quite at the required level to break into Mikel Arteta's first team.

"In the end when Monaco were interested it was, really, an easy decision for me," Balogun told Offside with Taylor Twellman when asked about his decision to leave north London for the French top flight. "I told my agent: 'This is the only place I wanted to go.' And luckily for me, he made it happen."

football.london understands that Arsenal have a 17.5 per cent sell on clause inserted in the deal. The striker made his debut in the final gameweek ahead of this month's international break, coming off the bench in Monaco's 3-0 win over RC Lens.