First of Arsenal's 22 released players breaks silence on exodus with social media message

Arsenal announced on Monday that 22 players from their men's, women's and academy teams will depart the North London club on June 30, when their contracts expire.

As well as saying their goodbyes to first-team players Cedric Soares and Mohamed Elneny, the Gunners confirmed a string of departures from their academy.

Ovie Ejeheri, Hubert Graczyk, James Hillson, Taylor Foran, Alex Kirk and Henry Jeffcott feature on the list alongside James Lannin-Sweet, Mauro Bandeira, Kido Taylor-Hart, Tyreece John-Jules, Henry Davies and Catalin Cirjan,

Cirjan, a 21-year-old Romanian youth international, joined the Arsenal academy from Romanian side Viitorul Domnesti in July 2019.

He enjoyed a productive 2022/23 season, notching three goals in 23 youth team appearances. In fact, he made Arsenal's matchday squad on four occasions in the Europa League.

But in a move that was branded a "mistake" by his agent Florin Manea, Cirjan then joined Romanian Liga 1 side FC Rapid Bucuresti on a season-long loan in 2023.

He went on to make 17 appearances for Bucuresti but Arsenal decided to let him go.

After the news was confirmed, Cirjan released a statement on social media.

"Thanks Arsenal," he wrote on Instagram. "I joined the club as a kid and I left like a man. I have the best memories but I went through some very tough situations like my injuries.

"I fell but I always came back better and stronger but I couldn’t do all of this without the help and support from all the staff and players. I was so lucky to be able to play and learn from some of the best players in the world and the best coaches."

He added: "Now it’s time to move on and start a new chapter in my career."

As mentioned earlier, Cirjan's agent rued the decision to join Romanian side FC Rapid Bucuresti on loan ahead of the 2023/24 campaign.

“Cirjan is back [in Romania]. I think he made a mistake by returning to Romania," he told Sport.

“You don’t play for Arsenal, good, you go to Bournemouth, Luton, Brentford. There are a lot of teams and you have to try to stay in the big game. That’s what I was talking to Radu Dragusin about.

"The level of training is incredible. The moment you drop this level and train at the intensity here, you lose a lot and it’s hard to come back. There’s a big difference between Italy and England, let alone Romania and England.”