David Raya sent a warm farewell to Karl Hein after Werder Bremen confirmed the goalkeeper's permanent move from Arsenal, with the transfer due to be completed in July 2026. Raya wrote: “All the best Karlitos, wish you nothing but the best, pleasure to have shared dressing room with you.”
Hein, who spent the 2025/26 season on loan at Werder Bremen, will now make that switch permanent once regulatory processes are completed. Werder said on Saturday that he would be their new No.1, with Mio Backhaus set to join Freiburg and opening the door for the 6ft 4in Estonia international.
The move closes a long Arsenal chapter for Hein, who joined from Nomme United in June 2018 and signed his first professional contract the following year. He made his first-team debut in November 2022 against Brighton & Hove Albion in the Carabao Cup third round at Emirates Stadium, but that remained his only competitive appearance for the club.
Arsenal thanked Hein for his contribution and wished him well for the next stage of his career, while the goalkeeper posted an emotional message on Instagram saying eight beautiful years with the club had come to an end. He said it had been a privilege to be part of Arsenal for so long and that the club had helped him grow from a 16-year-old kid into a goalkeeper and person able to chase his dreams.
His farewell also underlined how much of his development came away from north London. Hein spent the 2021/22 season on loan at Reading in the Championship, had a spell at Real Valladolid last season in which he made 32 appearances in all competitions, and featured twice in the Bundesliga during his recent loan at Werder. He has also made 45 senior appearances for Estonia.
The timing matters because Werder are moving to lock in their new first-choice keeper now, while Arsenal are drawing a line under a player who had been in their system for nearly a decade. Hein had missed the last few months through injury, and his departure leaves Arsenal with one less familiar face from their academy-era pipeline as Raya, the club’s current No. 1, continues to shape the position at the other end of the squad.
For Hein, the exit feels like both a farewell and an acknowledgement. He leaves with one competitive Arsenal appearance, a string of loans that gave him senior minutes, and a message to supporters that ended the way only a player who still feels connected to the club could: “Once a Gooner, always a Gooner.”
