Chido Obi-Martin has left Arsenal and is said to be on the verge of joining Premier League rivals Manchester United.
This has been a mixed summer for the Arsenal academy.
On one hand, the likes of Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly are making everyone proud with their performances on Arsenal’s USA tour.
Sadly, on the flip side, three massive young talents have left the club – Reuell Walters, Amario Cozier-Duberry and most recently, Obi-Martin.
Now, some fresh details have emerged about the latter.
Reports have claimed that Chido Obi-Martin rejected Arsenal’s £15,000-a-week salary offer. Manchester United have ‘gladly’ agreed to pay him double that figure, and it looks like he will be joining them soon.
Arsenal fans have now had their say about the figures involved.
Arsenal fans react to Manchester United’s salary offer to Chido Obi-Martin
Obi-Martin is a fantastic young player. He scored 32 goals in 18 appearances in the U18 Premier League, which is a sensational return.
However, Arsenal fans are finding it ‘insane’ that a 16-year-old has rejected a £15,000-a-week contract and has been offered twice that amount at Manchester United.
One Arsenal fan tweeted: “£30k weekly for a 16-year-old is crazy. United fans will tell you INEOS got the pull.”
Another wrote: “Whoa that’s a lot of money. I can’t be mad at the club for being unwilling to meet those demands. It’s absurd but, game is the game.”
“I’m amazed we even offered him £15k crazy for such a young and inexperienced player. Well done to the club for this,” wrote another.
Another fan said: “I’m sorry But 15k is WAYYYY more than enough for him at 15. When Saka first signed, he was on about 3k a week, and then after he broke to the first team and won the FA Cup, he signed for about 30k a week. That’s bonkers.”
“Wow, we were right to walk away,” tweeted another Arsenal supporter.
What else did Arsenal offer Chido Obi-Martin?
Arsenal really did go above and beyond to keep hold of Obi-Martin.
Fabrizio Romano revealed that Arsenal did everything they could to extend Obi-Martin’s contract, but the youngster was not happy with what was offered.
The Daily Mail have shared some more details on Arsenal’s proposal.
Mikel Arteta and Edu Gaspar promised to make Obi-Martin a regular in the U18s and even offered game time with the U21s when scheduled allowed. Furthermore, Obi-Martin was told he would be training with the Arsenal first team throughout the season.
The ‘real dealbreaker’, however, was the money, and it looks like Manchester United have been able to satisfy his demands.
It’s a shame, but Arsenal cannot be blamed for losing Obi-Martin – they did everything to keep him.
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