Photo: Payo / Public domain / Wikimedia Commons
Arsenal have signed centre-back Elijah Upson on his first professional contract ahead of the 2026/27 season. The 18-year-old joins from the club's own academy setup as the new campaign gets underway.
"It's a great feeling, really proud to be here," Upson said after putting pen to paper. "My dad signed here around the same time as me, it's great to have someone with a good experience of the place. But at the same time, I'm definitely looking forward to building my own reputation and getting started."
The signing carries a family dimension: Upson's father, Matthew, joined Arsenal at the same age of 18 back in 1997. The younger Upson cited the club's environment and its academy-to-first-team pathway as key factors in his decision.
"When I met the guys here recently and met all the team and staff, it just seemed like a really nice environment. That was probably the biggest factor, an environment where you feel you can hopefully learn and get better as a person," he said.
Upson described himself as strong in the air and keen to develop his long passing range. He pointed to Arsenal's first-team centre-back partnership as a source of motivation. "The centre-back partnership in the first team that there is between Saliba and Gabriel, they're a good inspiration and really experienced, high quality players. Definitely two players that I'm really keen to learn from," he added.
The defender is expected to feature for Arsenal's under-21 side in the near term, with the club also holding out the prospect of first-team exposure. Several academy players have progressed to senior debuts at the club in recent seasons. The deal is subject to the completion of regulatory processes.