Official: 17-year-old centre-back Angelino Pedro signs first professional contract with Arsenal

On September 7, Arsenal officially announced that young centre-back Angelino Pedro signed his first professional contract on the day of his 17th birthday.

Angelino Pedro joined Arsenal's academy system at the age of 11 and has now completed his professional signing, marking an important step in his football career.

After signing the contract, Pedro said: "This is one of the best birthday gifts. For me and my family, this is a very important moment."

"I have put in a lot of hard work behind the scenes to reach this point. But because of those efforts, this contract feels even more special. It represents another important milestone for me."

"I joined Arsenal when I was 11, and the journey has been full of hard work, learning and sacrifice. Being able to grow through the academy and eventually sign a professional contract here is a huge honour."

In recent years, Arsenal's academy system has continued to produce many talented players. Since Angelino Pedro joined the club, young players such as Myles Lewis-Skelly and Max Dowman have entered the first team and made appearances at the Emirates Stadium.

Pedro believes that the excellent environment at Arsenal's academy is an important reason why the club can continue developing young players.

He said: "You are surrounded by top players and excellent coaches, and they constantly push you to improve and keep working hard to develop yourself."

"I feel that everyone inspires me. When you see academy players able to play at the Emirates Stadium, you naturally think that maybe one day the person standing there could be you."

In addition to the emergence of academy players, Arsenal's first team currently also has outstanding centre-backs such as Saliba and Gabriel, who have become examples for Pedro to learn from.

Speaking about his idols, Pedro said: "I really admire Saliba and Gabriel. Gabriel's aggression, leadership qualities and attitude in matches have impressed me, while Saliba is very calm and composed. I hope to learn from both of them and continue improving myself."

Looking ahead to the new season, Angelino Pedro hopes to continue improving and make a deeper impression on the team.

"So far, this has been a very wonderful journey. I hope to have an excellent season, continue improving in both training and matches, maintain consistent performances and show my ability."

Arsenal's official channels also congratulated Angelino Pedro and look forward to the young centre-back continuing to develop and receiving more opportunities in the future.