Gunners make room for Poom

Mart Poom has signed a permanent deal with Arsenal following his loan move from Sunderland.

The Estonia goalkeeper, signed by Arsene Wenger as back-up for Jens Lehmann and Manuel Almunia, was sent to Highbury on loan as part of the deal taking young full-back Justin Hoyte to Sunderland.

And the 33-year-old has made his move permanent, signing an undisclosed contract despite having failed to represent the Gunners’ first team so far and only making four appearances for the reserve team.

He told the club’s website, arsenal.com: “I’m delighted to have signed a permanent deal with Arsenal and am really pleased that Arsene Wenger and the coaches at the club have shown faith in me.

“I’m really enjoying it here at Arsenal and will continue to work hard in training, so that I am ready to hopefully feature in the first team in the near future.”