Arsenal close to signing Norwegian attacker George Lewis

Arsenal are closing in on the signing of 20 year old Norwegian attacker George Lewis, according to Charles Watts of Goal. 

The 20 year old is in London and the Gunners are hoping to seal his signature after the FA Cup final. Contrary to some reports, the deal is not done yet and there are still some details of the move to be finalised. Arsenal are holding off on sealing this transfer and will wait to see what the outcome of the FA Cup Final is before making any decisions. 

George Lewis spent two weeks on trial at Arsenal in March and was very impressive. The North London club have been in talks with the free agent for the last few months and if a deal is completed, he will link up with Steve Bould’s Under 23 squad. 

The player has been described as ‘outstanding but raw’ by a former coach. He has spent a majority of his career in the lower leagues of Norwegian football. He joined the youth ranks of Tromso IL after which he signed his first professional contract with third division side Tromsdalen in 2017. 

He moved to Fram Lavrik, another Norwegian third tier side, in 2019 and played for them briefly before taking a break in order to secure a move to another European club. During this time, he had trials with Ipswich and Bournemouth before being offered a one week trial at Arsenal. He impressed during his time at Arsenal and so his trial was extended for another seven days. 

It was after this trial that the Gunners began talks to sign him permanently. He is a versatile, right footed player and his favoured position is on the right side of the attack. He can, however, play in any of the front three positions. 

Jonathan Hill, his former coach at Tromsdalen, spoke about the Norwegian attacker. He said:

“He’s very quick and direct. He likes a stepover and has a range of tricks. He can beat a player – whether he can beat a Premier League full-back is a different thing.”

“I gave him his professional contract so I thought he had something because he’s got good pace, but he needs to improve his decision making and I’m sure that will improve working with players of Arsenal’s standard.”

“I really wish him well. He’s a really nice guy and this could be the thing that gets him going.”