Arsenal and Barrow AFC confirmed the transfer of academy youngster Mazeed Ogungbo on Wednesday morning, with the 20-year-old signing a two-year deal with the League Two club.
“It feels amazing,” Ogungbo told the Barrow website. “I’m excited to get going, to meet the boys and it’s been a great process in getting to know the Gaffer and the way he wants to play so I’m really looking forward to it.
“When I was on loan last season at Crawley, we played Barrow near the end of the season and from there, things just started moving in the right direction and I’m really excited to come here and start.
“I really really like the playing style, the intensity we play, and also the fans and the fanbase was something that really stood out to me when I played there last season.
“It just feels like a real family environment which is something that’s really important for me and will obviously help everyone perform out on the pitch.”
Ogungbo had first joined Arsenal’s academy in 2015, and he signed his first professional contract in 2021.
The defender then moved on loan to Crawley Town for the 2022/23 campaign, initially linking up with former Arsenal academy coach Kevin Betsy.
But things took a turn for the worse early on in the loan spell, as Ogungbo struggled with injuries and Betsy was sacked.
It took a while for the Arsenal loanee to break back into the team, but he did eventually put together a run of eight consecutive league starts between March and April.
That included a match against Barrow, and he clearly did enough to catch their attention on the day.
Ogungbo becomes Arsenal’s second official sale of the summer, after Nikolaj Moller joined FC St. Gallen on a four-year deal last week.