It has been a difficult summer for the Arsenal academy.
The Gunners missed out on Jeremy Monga after deeming the finances too high, and lost Kyran Thompson to Newcastle.
It’s been an uncertain period to say the least, but Pascal De Maesschalck’s arrival as new academy director has hopefully helped steady the ship.
A sign of that is Emerson Nwaneri committing his future to the club, after it looked like he was set to leave Hale End.
Who is the one Arsenal academy player you thought would become a superstar but never did?
But the club did lose highly-rated midfielder Mishel Nduka to Manchester City, which will be viewed as a huge disappointment.
However, a new detail has emerged that puts that loss in a different light.
According to the Daily Mail, Man City are paying Nduka £20,000 a week, putting the 16-year-old on around £1million a year.
Arsenal made him a lucrative long-term offer of their own but set a firm ceiling of where they were prepared to go. City blew straight past it.
Arsenal were right not to match Manchester City’s offer to Mishel Nduka
Paying a 16-year-old scholar £20,000 a week, before he has kicked a ball in senior professional football, would immediately destroy the wage structure at Hale End.
If Arsenal matched City’s offer for Nduka, who had only been at London Colney just one season after joining from Charlton, it would undermine every future contract negotiation with other academy players.
Arsenal are high on their youth players earning elite wages through senior breakthrough, not just giving them as part of a bidding war.
And the same logic has driven Arsenal’s approach in the senior market this summer, having walked away from Monga, Morgan Rogers, and Sandro Tonali when fees go beyond their internal valuations.
Be honest: Would you have been happy if Arsenal spent £117m on Morgan Rogers?
That, in the short-term, can be painful, but sticking to a consistent and disciplined approach is smart.
Arsenal will be frustrated about losing Nduka particularly after they fast-tracked him from the U16s to the U18s, the UEFA Youth League, and even the U21s. All in just a single season.
They showed their commitment in every way except the one that ultimately mattered to the player’s camp.
Seeing as academy wages aren’t included in Premier League financial rules, clubs can spend what they like on young players without it counting against their overall budget.
Arsenal operate within a strict internal structure as far as their academy is run, unlike Man City.
There might be a debate worth having that if Arsenal continue to lose out on such highly-rated prospects, they may have to decide whether their current approach is still fit for purpose.
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