Manchester United’s statement after signing Ayden Heaven from Arsenal showed exactly why the teenager swapped the Emirates Stadium for Old Trafford.

The highly-rated 18-year-old has signed a contract with the Red Devils until June 2029, with the option of an additional year. He is expected to join up with Ruben Amorim's first-team squad immediately.

It is understood that a clearer route to becoming a regular starter is the reason behind the central defender’s decision to leave United’s rivals. And Red Devils technical director Jason Wilcox made that clear in his statement when announcing the transfer on Saturday.

READ MORE: Manchester United make 'first move' for Mathys Tel amid Marcus Rashford approach

READ MORE: 'Don't want to hear it' - Diogo Dalot responds to Ruben Amorim's Manchester United criticism

Wilcox said: “We are delighted that Ayden has joined Manchester United.” And in a 16-word message, he then showed the key difference in how United plan to use Heaven in comparison to Mikel Arteta: “He is already an extremely talented defender who is ready to join our first-team squad.”

Arteta had been vocal in his praise of Hale End graduate Heaven, who he promoted to first team training last summer during the north Londoners’ pre-season. He faced United at the SoFi stadium during the tour of the US, where he made a mistake that led to Rasmus Hojlund finding the net.

Arsenal boss Arteta said afterwards: "I don’t know how many players are able to do that on a stage like this [at his age]. He’s lost a duel against [ Rasmus Hojlund], one of the strongest and fastest players in the world, it can happen.

"But the reaction afterwards, the composure, the quality, the body language that he had were all remarkable. I’m really happy with him."

Heaven, who joined Arsenal in 2019 as a 13-year-old, continued his development throughout the season and made his debut in October as a substitute in an EFL Cup victory at Preston. But while he was included in several matchday squads, he failed to make any appearances in the Champions League or Premier League, unlike fellow academy graduates Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly, who Arteta had displayed faith in.

That was in spite of injuries to the likes of Riccardo Calafiori, Gabriel Magalhaes, Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu leaving Arsenal stretched defensively at times this season. Had Arteta taken the opportunity to hand Heaven some game time, like Lewis-Skelly and Nwaneri, the teenager may have been convinced to stay.

Heaven will now reunite with another former Arsenal youngster, Chido Obi-Martin, who joined United from the north London side in the summer. Obi-Martin has impressed in the United youth ranks with nine goals in as many games.

Speaking on his new adventure in Manchester, Heaven told the official United website: “I am incredibly proud to join Manchester United. I’m grateful to everyone who helped make this dream a reality.

“There is so much that I want to achieve in the game, I’ll be giving everything to continue my development and become the best player that I can be.”