St Mirren 'fight off interest' to sign Arsenal winger Kabia on loan

St Mirren have signed winger Ismeal Kabia on a season-long loan from English Premier League champions Arsenal.

The 20-year-old, who spent last season on loan at Shrewsbury Town becomes the Buddies' ninth summer signing.

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Kabia was included in Arsenal's matchday squad for the first time back in 2024 against Tottenham but didn't feature.

His one and only first team appearance came in Arsenal's 5-1 win over Bolton in the League Cup.

"We're delighted to have Ismeal with us," manager Craig McLeish said.

"We've put a lot of work into it over the last few weeks. Arsenal had to give the go-ahead for when he could be released to come up because he's been involved with their first team throughout pre-season and played in some of their games.

"Mikel Arteta gave the clearance after their friendly the other night that he was happy with their squad.

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"He'll bring real excitement. He's a one-v-one type winger with real pace and directness.

"He had 43 appearances with Shrewsbury last season in League Two. He played a lot of football last season and now he's looking for his next step in his development. We're getting a really good, hungry young player.

"We've had to fight off a lot of interest in him as well. He had lots of different options up here and down south and in Europe. It's a really good one for us and we're really excited to show him off."

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