When a player scores 7 goals in a game, it is hard not to take notice.

Chido Obi Martin took his U18 tally to 28 goals in his last 16 games over the weekend. What is even more incredible he is just 16-years-old, and playing up 2-levels. Obi Martin does not turn 17 until November.

The Danish youth international joined us at 14 and quickly progressed through the ranks. At 15-years-old he scored 10 (ten) for the U16s against Liverpool. He is equally as prolific for his country, with 10 goals in 14 Denmark U17 games.

With what he has done at an U18 level, it is no surprise that some have called for him to be fast tracked into the first team squad. But we all need to temper our expectations.

The step up from youth level to senior pro is a huge one; and that step is even bigger if you are a title chasing team.

Obi Martin is ripping it up at an U18 level, but he has not yet made an impact at a Premier League 2 level where he has played just two games and is yet to score.

Now I get that if you are young enough you are old enough. I think back to the likes of Cesc Fabregas and Jack Wilshere who played very little at an U23/21 level and at 16/17 were straight into Arsenal’s first team squad.

You also have the likes of Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen who as 17 year olds were Premier League regulars. But for every Rooney there are hundreds of Danny Cadamarteri’s, Nick Chadwick’s and James Vaughan’s.

We have not developed “one of our own” centre forwards since Kevin Campbell (I don’t count Nicolas Bendtner). Campbell made his debut in 1988. 36 years is a long time to have not developed a regular starting striker for a team like The Arsenal. But it is not without trying.

Obi Martin is certainly not the first Arsenal academy striker that we have all got a little excited about.

Arturo Lupoli

The Italian striker was poached from Parma in 2004.

In 2004/05 Lupoli would score 27 goals in 32 games across youth and reserve levels for Arsenal. He would make just 1 Premier League appearance for Arsenal before joining Fiorentina on a free transfer.

Benik Afobe

There were expectations that Afobe would become the “next big thing” for Arsenal and England.

So good was he and midfielder Chuks Aneke that Barcelona tried to sign the pair from us.

In 2008, Arsene Wenger said “We have two Under-14s players I watched play and technically they have nothing to learn”. It was speculated at the time that Afobe was one of those players.

Afobe was in the Arsenal youth set up at the same time as Harry Kane. Everything that Kanes has achieved in the game, Afobe was expected to achieve.

Now 31, Afobe is playing in the UAE. He never played a senior game for Arsenal.

Chuba Akpom

It felt like we had a conveyor belt of talented young forwards in the wary 2010’s, and hot on the tail of Afobe was Chuba Akpom.

Like Afobe (and Obi Martin), Akpom was powerful, pacey and had an eye for goal.

Akpom had a few good pre-seasons for the club and looked ready to make the step up a couple of times, but ultimately he never really sparkled when out on loan.

It was not until the 2022/23 season that Akpom began to make a name for himself at senior level, scoring 28 goals in the Championship for Middlesbrough. That form saw him secure a move to Ajax at 27.

Akpom would play 12 times for Arsenal.

Eddie Nketiah

Of all the youth products, Eddie Nketiah has come closest to making the grade.

Eddie joined us after he was let go by Chelsea in 2015 aged 16.

In 2016/17, he would score 15 goals in 16 appearances for the under-18 team whilst also scoring 12 goals in 26 appearances for the under-23s. He would spend the next few years on the fringes of the first team before joining Leeds United on loan in 2019.

Mikel Arteta would cut that loan spell short and integrate Eddie into the first team.

He has since made 168 appearances for Arsenal, scoring 38 goals. He has also been capped for England.

Despite playing a lot of games, he has never really cemented himself as a first team regular and there has long been a feeling that we need better than Eddie if we want to continue challenging.

I would expect Nketiah to leave in the summer, but I do not expect Obi Martin to replace him. We need to go out and buy a top striker, with Gabriel Jesus then replacing Nketiah as the 2nd choice.

Folarin Balogun

The most recent in a long line of forwards that were expected to kick on and become a great for Arsenal.

Flo would score 9 goals in 14 U18 games at just 16. A year later he would score 25 goals in 19 games.

In 2019/20 he would graduate to our PL2 side and score 10 in 15, and over the next two years would continue to be prolific at the level.

Despite his achievements in the PL2, Balogun would see very little senior time for Arsenal, playing just 6 times.

A fruitful spell on loan with Reims would lead to a big money transfer away rather than an opportunity to play for our first team.

Balogun shows that ripping it up at a youth level does not mean you will get a clear path into the first team.

Chido Obi Martin

Finally we come to Obi Martin.

What he is doing at an U18 level right now is crazy. But he needs to learn to walk before he can run.

To lead the line for Arsenal you need to be more than a finisher. You need a defensive work rate and be comfortable getting involved in the play. Obi Martin still has plenty to learn.

Playing week in week out against the likes of James Tarkowski or Lewis Dunk is very different to playing at an U18 level. Obi Martin will not be able to bully men like he does boys.

Next season Obi Martin should set up to the PL2. He will then be playing against lads who are 5-years his senior.

If he continues to develop at the pace expected, a loan love to a Championship side will be on the horizon in 2025/26. He will still only be 17. If that goes well, then we might see Obi Martin integrated into the first team squad for 2026/27. Even if it takes him until 2027/28, he would still be just 19!

Arteta will be keeping an eye on Obi Martin, and with Gabriel Jesus now 27-years-old, the Dane could be the natural replacement in 2-3 years time.

Keep an eye on the young man, but do not pile on and demand he is promoted to the first team before he is ready. Arteta knows.

Keenos