Wenger Hints New Arsenal Signing May Not Play Until Next Season

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has hinted that new signing Krystian Bielik may not be ready to play for the first team until next season because he’ll need four to five months to adapt to life in England.

Bielik became our first signing of the January transfer window after making a £2.4million move to the Emirates Stadium from Legia Warsaw last month.

The 17-year-old defensive midfielder caught the eye of Arsenal scouts after impressing since breaking into the Legia first team earlier this season.

However, Wenger has now confirmed that while he’s impressed by the youngsters strength and technique for one so young, he hinted that we won’t see him pushing for the first team until next year.

Bielik is expected to use the next four to five months to adapt to life in England and build up his fitness before being blooded into the first team set-up next season.

Wenger is quoted as saying in the match-day programme:

“Krystian Bielik is building up his fitness. The first signs we have seen are very positive,”

“He’s a very strong player, he’s 17, he has a very good technical level and looks intelligent. But we’ll have to give him a little time to settle and adapt.

“I like to take players of that age mid-season because it gives them a cushion of four or five months to settle, adapt and then be ready for the following season.”

It’s certainly no surprise that Bielik isn’t going to be fast-tracked into the first team just yet. He’s only made a handful of first team appearances for Legia and it’s going to be a huge step up for him in the Premier League.

The emergence of Francis Coquelin in the middle of the park will also help as there’s now far less pressure to push Bielik too soon.

As Arsene said, it’s useful to sign young players like this in January as it gives them the second half of the season to settle into their new surroundings. They can then get a good pre-season under their belts and really have a go at the first team next season.