Arsene Wenger confirms deal in place for Polish teenager Krystian Bielik

Wenger confirmed at his Friday news conference ahead of his side's Premier League clash against Manchester City that a fee had been agreed with Legia.

Bielik, 17, signed for Legia from their arch rivals Lech Poznan last July.

He has made six appearances in all competitions for the capital club this season and Arsenal are thought to have agreed a fee of £2.4 million for the player.

- Bielik came from Legia's arch rivals last July as a 16-year-old. He has played six games, five in the Ekstraklasa, with Henning Berg giving him two starts as well as a cameo in the Europa League.

- It is a great deal for Legia as they paid 50,000 zlotys (£9,000) to sign him from Lech Poznan and now could recoup as much as £2.4m.

- Bielik is a defensive midfielder and a good header of the ball. It is said he can also play as a centre-back although he has never been used like that with the national team.

- Arsenal started proceedings in the summer. Two offers were rejected but the third was accepted. Hamburg also entered into talks but their offer wasn't good enough for Legia.

- From the beginning, the kid said he wanted to go to Arsenal, and he is the third player to make the move from Legia after Lukasz Fabianski and Wojciech Szczesny.

"Yaya Toure from Manchester City is my Idol. We have similar height, but as for now he's much stronger than me. I like his playing style. He is very good at defending, but also he gives a lot attacking quality. I would like to play like him. I don't have the best foreign team but I like Real Madrid's way of play."

The rather unfortunate juxtaposition of Arsenal being struck by serious injuries to a defender and midifelder while signing a 17-year-old has the potential to rile supporters who are hungry for experienced heads to be brought in. But much the same argument was made when Arsenal signed Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, and that turned out okay.

There is no hope that Bielik will come straight into the side and solve Arsenal's problems in an instant. This is simply not that kind of transfer. But there is no problem with continuing to build for the future while also pursuing more established targets. Wenger does need those other signings to placate fans though.