Future Arsenal player breaks into Shamrock Rovers senior team | OneFootball

Future Arsenal player Victor Ozhianvuna has started to break into Shamrock Rovers’ senior team on a more regular basis, starting in a league win over St. Pat’s on Friday.

Photo via Arsenal.com

Victor Ozhianvuna will be an Arsenal player in the future, with the club officially confirming his move in October. But the Gunners added that the transfer won’t actually take place until January 2027, leaving him with Shamrock Rovers until then.

Given Ozhianvuna is just 17 years old and an EU citizen, he’s ineligible to officially join up with Arsenal until he’s 18, just under 11 months from now.

The teenager had largely been used as a substitute prior to the confirmation of his Arsenal transfer, only making one start in the FAI Cup. But that’s changed in recent months, and he’s now on a run of four starts in all competitions.

Photo via Shamrock Rovers on Instagram

The current run began on December 11th, with the League of Ireland domestic campaign at an end but Shamrock Rovers competing in the Europa Conference League.

Ozhianvuna made European starts in a defeat to Breidablik and a win over Hamrun Spartans, before playing the full 90 minutes in the final of the President of Ireland’s Cup against Derry City at the end of January.

Shamrock Rovers then played their first League of Ireland match of the new campaign against St. Pat’s on Friday, and Ozhianvuna was once again named in the starting lineup in a 2-0 victory.

Photo via Arsenal.com

There are obviously no guarantees when you agree a signing for the future that the player’s current club will continue to receive consistent minutes in the meantime.

It would be somewhat understandable if the club started to think more selfishly about their own long-term future, but Shamrock Rovers are showing a clear desire to keep including Ozhianvuna and developing him ahead of his 2027 transfer.

As long as the team keep winning matches with Ozhianvuna in the lineup, it’s a win-win for everybody.