New Arsenal signing Omar Rekik says he is determined to repay the faith that the club have shown in him.
The Gunners completed a move for Rekik yesterday, paying £600,000 to sign the centre back from Hertha Berlin.
The decision to pay for the defender indicates that the club have high hopes for the 19-year-old, particularly as they could have signed him on a free transfer in the summer.
The hope, at least from Arsenal’s point of view, is that he will be worth much more than that in future, and Rekik says that is part of his plans.
“Of course it would be a dream to be worth 60 million euros or even more,” he told BILD.
“Because that would mean that I’ve made great athletic development. But sporting success is more valuable to me.
“I don’t have a specific goal. If Arsenal had waited a few months, they would have got me without a transfer fee.
“Now they have spent so much money on me. I want to repay that with performance. The club is serious about me, and I’m grateful for that.”
For the immediate future, Rekik will be spending his time with Arsenal’s Under 23 side, having been sent straight there as opposed to joining the first-team squad.
A step up is very much on the cards, though, with numerous reports before he joined indicating the offer and clear plan of progression.
Regular playing time will certainly be a step up for the defender, who failed to make a single first-team appearance with Hertha during his time there.
That is something he has criticised, saying it was the lack of prospects that led him to move to the Emirates.
“For me, there was no longer any prospect at Hertha,” he added.
“I’ve played three great seasons here and quickly became one of the top performers in all the youth teams.
“I also trained with the pros when I was 16 years old.
“But nobody from Hertha came to me to talk about prospects and my future. Hertha only reacted when Arsenal contacted me.”
