Arsenal’s Hale End academy has produced some searing talent over the years however, one concern has come to light.
Mikel Arteta is reaping the benefits of the development of players at Hale End, with Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly the latest graduates.
The duo are ready to follow in the footsteps of Bukayo Saka as a product of Arsenal’s academy but between the winger’s rise and the pair’s emergence, there was a period of stagnancy.
Why this is remains unclear although, some supporters have started to piece things together, with the bigger picture making for alarming viewing.
- READ MORE: What Arsenal are doing to strengthen the academy as new transfer plan revealed for ‘several’ stars
Arsenal fans make Hale End loan claim
Talk about Arsenal’s academy came after Charles Sagoe Jr returned from his loan spell at Shrewsbury Town, which was relevant for reasons besides his next step in north London.
The 20-year-old’s return means that Arsenal now have no academy players on loan at clubs to gain experience, something that was raised by expert Jeorge Bird.
Quickly, fans reacted to the alarming situation, and plenty of Arsenal supporters raised their concerns about the academy.
“The academy loan system has been a continued failure top to bottom and I’m not sure why we can’t ask for improvement here?” A concerned fan said.
“Not good enough. We’re run so poorly at academy level in so many aspects,” another said, before the comments flooded in on X.
- “This part of our club is the worst run part by quite some distance. With the shambolic handling of our youth players, we quite literally cost us millions in missed transfer & loan fees.”
- “We’re constantly letting pure profit out the door for pennies because we haven’t gotten these guys good loans.”
- “And you wonder why we can’t sell anyone for any fees or they leave for free. Our loan system for the academy is one of the worst in the league.”
One fan directed focus to an instance that the Gunners handled correctly, loaning Folarion Balogun to Stade Reims which paved the way to his eventual transfer.
“We need to loan players out earlier, get them the game experience. Balogun was the right way, got him to sign contract, then we loaned him and sold him, also could have kept him.”
While Hale End has produced some fine talent, the academy is by no means the finished article, as fans made clear when reacting to the latest news.
Who is currently on loan from Arsenal?
Arsenal have five senior players on loan at present, with the future of each individual not known beyond the 2024/25 campaign.
Fabio Vieira is impressing on loan at Porto, while Nuno Tavares and Albert Sambi Lokonga are at Lazio and Sevilla respectively.
Karl Hein is in Spain with Real Valladolid, while closer to home, Reiss Nelson is at Fulham alongside several former Gunners.
Loans are crucial to a player’s development, with it a clear concern that no players in Arsenal’s academy are currently exposed to senior football.
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