We are delighted to announce that Alexei Rojas has signed his first professional contract at the club.

Goalkeeper Alexei made 11 appearances across our academy sides last season, including all six matches in the UEFA Youth League group stage.

He has represented Colombia at international youth level, as well as Russia and England.

He was part of our under-18s squad that finished as runners-up in the FA Youth Cup in 2022/23.

Speaking to Arsenal.com, Alexei said: “It’s an unbelievable feeling. I feel so proud of myself and happy with the work that I’ve done over the last few years. It’s always been my dream from such a young age to finally become a professional footballer.

“Now I’m here it continues motivating me to keep working hard every day to reach my goal of becoming the best goalkeeper in the world.

“Arsenal is a club that has a very rich history and I’ve become very fond of it. It’s strong in my heart and everybody here has always made me feel so welcome, from the coaching staff to the cleaners, the chefs, the security guards, the groundsmen that make everything possible for us so that I’m able to just focus on the football.

“My family have always been there for me, supporting me through the high and low moments and without their support I couldn’t be where I am today, especially my father. He’s been giving me advice and helping me train, especially during the lockdown that we had. I’m very grateful for everything that he’s done, I love him a lot and I love that he’s going to continue being on my journey with me.”

 

A number of academy players have recently signed their first professional contracts with the club, and Alexei said that it’s great to reach that milestone alongside them.

“It’s a fantastic achievement for all of us,” he said. “A lot of us have been here for a number of years now at Arsenal. We’ve got a strong connection with the club and all of our goals are to become professional footballers and go on to have long careers, so it’s great to achieve that together and I know we’re all going to continue pushing each other within the under-21s and hopefully we’ll all go on to have long, successful careers.

“Getting into the first team is the goal of any player, even moreso at a massive club like Arsenal. One of my goals is to become a Premier League player and play at the highest level, so there’s no better place to do it. I’ve got to continue working on the habits to make sure I’m the most consistent person on and off the pitch.

“I’m looking forward to playing and winning games next season. I can initiate attacks, dominate the box and make big saves for us to help us have consistency in our performances. I want to keep making the most of what’s around me.”

Alexei spoke at the Eden Project earlier this year and is an advocate for sustainability in football. Here’s what he had to say on the subject:

“Football and sustainability are very closely linked. Football has a huge impact on the world in terms of the travel, all the waste and the fans. It has such a large impact on people’s lives and people feel very closely connected to the beautiful game.

“If we can spread positive messages through football in terms of how we should live our lives and make change and be more sustainable, I think that’s the way to drive change going forward. Working closely together will have huge positive impacts that are going to be important to every single one of us on this world.”