Vivienne Lia has joined Southampton on loan for the remainder of the season, having signed her first professional contract with Arsenal earlier this month.

The versatile 18-year-old winger links up with the Saints, who are 6th in the Women's Championship but only five points off top spot in a very competitive division.

Lia could make her debut, a first senior league appearance in any division, against Sunderland on Sunday at St Mary's.

Lia told Southampton's website: "I'm excited to get started of course, I feel like this will be a really good part of my development.

"The Championship has been a league I’ve been looking at to help my development a lot. I think it’s a really challenging league and it’s very tight at the moment, so it’s exciting to come into that and compete against great players as well."

Southampton Head Coach Remi Allen said: “We’re delighted to welcome Viv to the group, she's a player we've watched for a while and we're excited to add her quality and enthusiasm to the squad.

"She adds greater depth to our attacking options, and we hope she'll be a threat in this league for us during second half of the season."

The loan is subject to the completion of regulatory processes.