Newcastle United officially confirmed the signing of Stan Flaherty from Arsenal this weekend, as expected after his trial with the club.

Newcastle posted on their official club website to confirm the signing of Stan Flaherty from Arsenal on Saturday. They’re bringing him in on a scholarship contract for the time being.

The move looked likely for a while, with the 18-year-old spending time on trial with Newcastle and attending first-team matches in the crowd. The player himself also confirmed his departure from Arsenal on Instagram.

The process started back in September, with Arsenal allowing Flaherty to play for West Ham United’s u18s on trial.

The midfielder actually had a great game, scoring twice and assisting once against Norwich City. All the same, he went on another trial with Newcastle before coming to a decision. He explained why he ended up choosing Newcastle.

“I come up here for a week about a month ago and I really liked the place,” Flaherty said. “I liked the staff and the players and there was a really friendly vibe at the Academy. The minute I came here, I felt welcomed.

“It was a good trial. I did a week’s training which was good and then we played a match against Liverpool. The result didn’t go too well as we lost 3-0 but, overall, it was a good week for me as I really enjoyed it here, which is why I was happy to come back.”

The youngster could make his debut against Chelsea in the u18 Premier League Cup next Saturday.

Flaherty made 14 league appearances for the Arsenal u18s, but never nailed down a starting spot, making three starts in total. After seven years with Arsenal, we all wish him well for the future up in Newcastle.