Arsenal’s 28 goal starlet nowhere near ready for the first team

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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

Jorginho, Declan Rice, Arsenal WAGs and More

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Jorginho

I for one am delighted that we are offering Jorginho a new contract.

Jorginho is a leader on and off the pitch in this squad, and it is important we keep these sort of players around.

Where I sit in the Emirates is behind where the subs warm up. Whenever we are chasing the game, Jorginho “warms up” when in truth he is actually coaching close to the opposition box. This is a tactic that has been used by Mikel Arteta a few times, and one which goes relatively unseen.

On the pitch, Jorginho has had accusations that his “legs have gone”, but can your legs go if you never had them to begin with?

He is like a Xabi Alonso or Luka Modric. Never been blessed with pace or physical ability, but blessed with a brilliant footballing brain. The first 5-yards are in your head and all that.

Jorginho offers an alternative option to the hustle and bustle of Thomas Partey and Declan Rice. His calming effect in the ball is a positive from both an attacking and defensive stand point.

I expected one of either Jorginho or Partey to leave this summer, with a new central midfielder to come in. My expectation was that it would be Partey to go, with Jorginho staying on for an another year.

A new 12-month contract with an option for another 12-months. That feels fair for a man who is still only 32. Jorginho could be at Arsenal for some time to come (and I would not be surprised to see him managing or coaching us at some point in his life).

Declan Rice

There is a fabulous interview in The Athletic with Declan Rice. For those without a subscription, just search his name on Twitter and you will get almost every quote.

The interview really highlights how much Rice has grown as a player and man in the short time he has been at Arsenal.

No longer does he look to just play long balls to the wings in the hope a team mate gets on the end of it. He talks about learning that playing a great diagonal ball is pointless if it will leave his team mate isolated. And this is the difference between a good player playing for an average team and a top player in a top team.

A poor player plays the Hollywood ball and then thinks his job is done. A top player realises that the pass might look good on his showreel, but it does not benefit the team.

To highlight further, you often see on Match of the Day a player for a lower team put an aimless cross into the box. Commentators then celebrate the ball in and then criticise the strikers for not getting on the end of it. When you watch a top team, their wingers (such as Bukayo Saka), recognise that an attacker will be unable to get on the end of the cross so look to keep hold of the ball and recycle rather than play it into the box and lose position.

Rice has now realised it is not all about him. That top teams get to the top by recognising what their team mate will be able to do with the ball when they get it.

The interview is a worthwhile read to understand just how much Mikel Arteta’s coaching has influenced his thinking, and just how much he has grown as a player.

Arsenal WAGs

It had not gone unnoticed how Arsenal players wives and girlfriends were socialising together. And not the “falling out of nightclubs” and wanting to be famous themselves socialising of England’s Baden Baden era.

Partners of the players watch games together in eachothers houses, look after eachothers dogs and are often seen dancing in a box at the Emirates together.

Arteta has built a squad of players who are all in and around the same age, which in turn means their partners are. His players are humble and not interested in the celebratory life, and they have wives and girlfriends to match.

A happy wife means a happy life. And if a player’s partner is comfortable in the presence of a teammates partner, then it will naturally lead to less anomoisity on the field and players also getting on better.

Arteta has spoken in the past about how the “Arsenal family” is more than just the players. It is the coaches, the backroom staff, the guys and girls that work in Highbury House, players partners, children and parents.

I have never known an Arsenal squad to be so much as one and with no cliques. Arteta should take credit for that.

Five players to leave Arsenal

Just read a clickbaity article from the Express (sorry, I know I should do better) which talked about 5 players that might never play for Arsenal again.

Four of those 5 players were Mo Elneny, Kieran Tierney, Nuno Tavaras and Cedric Soares. Two players with their contracts ending and two players out on loan. It really is not a hard hitting piece of investigative journalism and just highlights that the media now care more for clicks than actual stories.

The fifth player oddly was Fabio Vieira. I would be surprised if the Portuguese midfielder is going anywhere.

The journalist clearly does not realise Vieira has been injured for much of the season (he fails to mention any injury). Vieira is a technically very good player in the same mould as Bernardo Silva. He will grow with more playing time, and if he does not get that playing time it just means other players are performing (Martin Odegaard is an unbreakable force. He never seems to be injured or fatigued. A blog for another day).

Enjoy your Wednesday.

Keenos

Broken by the emotional rollercoaster of Spurs away

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That was horrible.

At half time, Sunday was quickly turning into one of my greatest non-trophy winning days at the football. By full time it nearly became one of the worst.

To say I was an emotional mess would be an underestimate.

At 3-1 the nerves got the better of me and I could take no more. For the last 20 minutes of the game I could be found in the concourse walking from end to end. When the final whistle sounded, I was unable to celebrate. My legs gave way and I was frozen. It took a mate to pick me up, give me a hug in celebration and assure me that everything was going to be OK.

The stress levels of this game are what caused me to have a mini-mental break.

To go 3-nil up, see us get pegged back to 3-1 (and then 3-2), against that lot, in a must win game for the title. I could see the headlines, hear the mockery if we threw it away. I just could not cope.

Two days on and I am still not as happy as I should be having just seen us go top of the table beating Tottenham on their patch. I should be on cloud nine, in a celebratory mood. But I actually feel down. It feels like we lost.

At half time when 3-nil, I made the point to my mates that we had not actually played that well and, that like Chelsea mid-week, Tottenham had their chances. But I could never have predicted how close we would come to chucking it away.

We came out for the second half in second gear, but never really looked troubled and actually had the best chance of the game. It felt like only a matter of time until we got that 4th – and Bukayo Saka really should have ended all hope of Spurs.

Then David Raya inexplicitly kicked the ball straight at Cristian Romero.

I thought the Match of the Day analysis of what happened was fairly accurate. There is no blame to Raya as he is asked by the coaches to play that way and had the chip over Romero worked, Arsenal would have easily beaten the press and be facing Tottenham with one of the central defenders up field.

Mistakes happen. We have seen both Ederson and Allisson miskick it to an opponent over the years and it is part of the risk / reward of not simply hoofing it forward and creating a 50/50 challenge in the air.

As for the penalty, the incident highlights the inconsistency in VAR decision making.

Earlier this season we were denied a penalty against Aston Villa when Gabriel Jesus had his ankle booted by a Villa defender whilst trying to control the ball. Jarred Gillett was the VAR at the time and made the decision that it was not a penalty, and not a clear and obvious error.

At White Hart Lane, the referee waved play on having decided it was not a penalty. Declan Rice was attempting to clear the ball and had his eyes on nothing else when he caught Ben Davies. Gillett was once again on VAR and this time decided the ref had made a clear and obvious error and a penalty was awarded.

The same referee, sitting in their portacabin, making two different decisions for very similar incidents. I have always said the issue is not the technology but those who operate. The inconsistency is frustrating.

As for everything else, Gillett got the offside decision correct, even though Spurs fans have questioned it, and it was never a penalty on Dejan Kuluveski in the lead up to Saka’s goal.

A play running and his heel clipping an opponents knee can never be a freekick or penalty. It is clearly just a coming together and it would be impossible to determine who had made contact with who.

Tottenham fans cryarsing has got me out of my slumber a bit. the way they have moaned about the weekends result shows they have well and truly bought into Ange Postiwhatshisname’s “greatness”. The fact is they are 20 points behind us and 8th in the form table since the turn of the year. The longer they continue to back a man clearly out of his depth tactically the better!

We move on. 3 games to go we are in the title race, although Manchester City are favourites.

Up next is Bournemouth who are clearly not in beach mode having thrashed Brighton on Sunday (Brighton themselves clearly are already on the beach!). Win that game and it is basically than a “rivals” shoot out.

Manchester United v Arsenal
Tottenham v Manchester City

Will we get a favour from Spurs? Will City get a favour from Manchester United? Either way, the title race is going down to the last week of the season and that is all we could ever ask for.

UTA.

Keenos