As fans, we have a tendency to overhype young players in the academy.
This can lead to calls for players to get more game time, and then criticise the manager for not giving them that game time.
We certainly saw this with Ethan Nwaneri.
Mikel Arteta gave Nwaneri his debut back in September 2022 against Brentford. He then played very little over the next two season, which lead criticise to claim that Arteta did not care about youth players, and that he was unwilling to give youngsters the chance.
Accusations that a manager does not care about young players are always far from the mark. A manager will always give a youngster the chance if they are good enough. A single academy product breaking through to the first team squad can save a club in excess of £20 million. Money that can be used to improve the squad elsewhere.
And if a player is damn good and becomes a first team regular, than the saving is closer to £100 million. No top manager would refuse to play young players.
Ultimately, if the young players are good enough they will get game time. And the better a team becomes, the better those youngsters need to be to get a chance.
We are not a charity. We are title challengers. And any youngster who breaks through at Arsenal needs to be better than good. They not only need to be amongst the best players in their age group, but as 18 or 19 they need to already be amongst the best players in the Premier League.
It is not simply a case of “give them a chance”. The players actually need to be good enough to get that chance. And they prove whether they are good enough in training, day in day out.
The calls from the armchair scouts that a player should get more game time are usually based on a handful of youth team highlights and rumours. Meanwhile, Arteta and his coaching staff see these lads from the age of 14 (or under) and have watched them develop into young men.
By the time a young player is 17 or 18, Arteta and the coaching team will know exactly who will likely make it and who will not. They will know those players who have the work ethic, talent, physically and mental attributes to be the best. And those that will fall short. The coaches know more than any armchair critic.
Last summer Arsenal were criticised for losing Chido Obi-Martin to Manchester United. The youngster apparently left due to a lack of first team opportunities. He was just 16.
Since joining Man U, Obi Martin has not had a sniff of even a place on their bench. And that is with it being the worst Man U team in my lifetime.
A year ago, Obi-Martin came into everyone’s consciousness as he ripped up the U18 Premier League. 32 in 18 goals led Manchester United to double the £15,000 a week he was offered at Arsenal.
Since the move, Obi-Martin has not kicked on. He is still playing at U18 level, and has made just one appearance in the Premie League 2. I wonder if he is now regreeting his move?
Last season, Obi-Martin made 2 PL2 appearances, and the feeling was this year he would progress him U18 level to the Premier League reserve league. I am sure were he at Arsenal he would have played regularly at PL2 level, and considering our front line injury crisis may well have even of got himself on the first team bench.
Instead, he moved and has stagnated.
Another youngster to make the move from Arsenal Academy to Manchester United Academy is Ayden Heaven. The 18-year-old centre back joined the mid-table Premier League side in January.
Like Obi-Martin, Heaven is another who was highly rated within Arsenal. But instead of continuing to work hard and continue his development, he made the move. The pair likely picking a short term windfall over long term development.
Heaven was heavily involved with Arsenal first team training during the 2024 summer pre-season, and was one of three youngsters, along with Myles Lewis-Skelly and Nwaneri, individually praised by manager Mikel Arteta in August 2024.
The development of Lewis-Skelly and Nwaneri shows that if you are good enough, you continue to work had, and are patient, you will get your chance.
Still only 18 and younger than Heaven, Lewis-Skelly is quickly establishing himself as a fans favourite. He has confidence, charisma and most, importantly, talent.
Islington born and bred, he is one of our own. And that comes across on the pitch. Lewis-Skelly’s future is bright.
Meanwhile, Nwaneri – often seen as the jewel in the Arsenal academy – has had to wait over two years to become a regular in Arsenal’s match day squad. But his patience is now being rewarded.
Still only 17, Nwaneri now has 7 goals in 22 games. His finish against Manchester City showed talent beyond his years. He is the only player aged under 18 who has 5+ goals this season across Europe’s top 5 leagues, Lamine Yamal aside.
Arteta has to be praised for both players development.
Had he bowed down to fan pressure, both players could have seen game time before they were ready. This could have damaged them mentally for the future – see Charlie Patino. Instead, Arteta protected the pair and now they are ready, they are both getting game time.
Earlier we spoke about how much money a young player could save a club, which could then be invested elsewhere.
Moving into next season, I expect Nwaneri to be either second choice to Bukayo Saka on the right wing, or second choice behind Martin Odegaard. This would save us in excess of £40 million (based on how much it would be to get a top player in either of those positions). That is £40 million that is then free’d up to improve the team elsewhere.
Likewise, Lewis-Skelly’s development will earn Arsenal a pretty penny.
I would expect us to go into next season with Ben White, Ricardo Calafiori, Jurrien Timber and Lewis-Skelly as our 4 full back options. The first 3 also provide the required cover in the middle.
The result is we can no cash in on the always-injured Takehiro Tomiyasu, the out of favour Oleksandr Zinchenko and the rarely seen Jakub Kiwior.
Three players off the books (4 including Kieran Tierney), Arsenal would probably expect to see around £40million come in. With Lewis-Skelly, all that money could go on specialist central defensive for Gabriel and William Saliba.
My final thought on this is a regular one.
Those that sit their demanding young players see more game time are the same fans who complain when a young player picks up an injury having “played too much”. It is almost like they are just looking for a reason to moan.
UTA
Keenos
She Wore A Yellow Ribbon 