Manchester United have completed the signing of England Under-19 defender Ayden Heaven from Arsenal on a four-and-a-half-year deal.
The 18-year-old joins United for an undisclosed fee and will immediately integrate into the first-team squad.
Heaven started his journey at Arsenal in 2019, joining at the age of 13, and made his senior debut in October as a substitute in an EFL Cup win over Preston.
“I am incredibly proud to join Manchester United. I’m grateful to everyone who helped make this dream a reality,” he said.
“I have so much I want to achieve in the game, and I’ll be giving everything to continue my development and become the best player I can be.”
Manchester United’s technical director Jason Wilcox said: “We are delighted Ayden has joined Manchester United. He’s already an extremely talented defender, ready to join our first-team squad to maximise his development.”
“He’s in the perfect place to reach his excellent potential as this club has a phenomenal track record in supporting young players.”
Heaven is the second young player to join United from Arsenal this season after 17-year-old striker Chido Obi-Martin moved north in October.

Meanwhile, Lecce left-back Patrick Dorgu is set to travel to Manchester for a medical on Saturday. The Denmark international was an unused substitute in Lecce’s Serie A win at Parma on Friday, with reports suggesting the fee will be under £30m, including add-ons.
This move for Heaven fits into United’s new philosophy of investing in younger players they believe will become first-team stars in the future. While Heaven is not as experienced as recent signings like Leny Yoro, he offers more familiarity with English football.
As United progress to the Europa League’s last 16, it will be interesting to see how much involvement Heaven gets, and what this means for more experienced defenders like Victor Lindelof, whose contract expires at the end of the season.
Though United remain behind Arsenal, these new signings may see a clearer route to the first team at Old Trafford. Heaven, for example, has yet to make a Premier League appearance for Arsenal.