Arsenal have officially announced that promising defender Harry Clarke has joined Scottish Premiership side Ross County on loan for the 2021/22 season.
The 20-year-old central defender spent last season out on loan in League Two with Oldham Athletic, making 32 appearances in the second-tier and three in the FA Cup.
Clarke played a starting role in a side that finished 18th and he’ll be in store for a similar challenge with the Staggies this season, they finished two off the bottom in the first phase of the Scottish top-flight last season before finishing fourth out of the six teams in the second phase.
Clarke has had the chance to taste first-team action with Arsenal this summer, training with the senior Gunners during their pre-season camp in Scotland and playing 45 minutes against Hibernian.
This deal has been wrapped up very quickly, with news of interest in Clarke from Ross County only emerging a few days ago.
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Delighted to of joined @RossCounty on loan for the upcoming season, can’t wait to get started ???? #staggies pic.twitter.com/3YjiQljco2
— Harry Clarke (@HarryyClarke6) August 2, 2021
Arsenal actually share that Clarke joined the club as a midfielder in their profile of the talent, with the ace since being transitioned to a centre-back, who can also feature at right-back.
Supporters will certainly hope that Clarke can develop whilst away in the Highlands and return as a potential breakthrough first-teamer next season as he has tendencies that Mikel Arteta and fans will love, the ace’s time as a midfielder encourages him to look to play the ball forwards ‘whenever possible’.