Mikel Arteta error identified as ‘big turning point’ in Charlie Patino’s Arsenal career exposed

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Arsenal are ready to bid farewell to Hale End starlet Charlie Patino this summer as Deportivo La Coruna close in.

Deadline day is fast approaching and the focus at Arsenal has turned to departures rather than expected arrivals. 

Nottingham Forest want to sign Eddie Nketiah and Charlie Patino is expected to leave to join Deportivo La Coruna.

There were high hopes for both players, with Nketiah yet to suggest he’s at the level required to play for Arsenal and Patino barely given the chance to impress. 

• READ MORE: Every Arsenal academy player to make their senior debuts under Mikel Arteta

Mikel Arteta made a mistake with Charlie Patino at Arsenal

Arsenal have agreed to sell Patino to Deportivo La Coruna for a reported fee of just £1m, ending his nine-year association with the Gunners.

It’s a shock for many to see Patino exit for such a small fee however, the midfielder’s desire was to join the Spanish club for reasons close to his family. 

Journalist Charles Watts penned a column on Patino and his understanding of Arsenal’s decision to sanction a move for the 20-year-old, who spent last season on loan at Swansea City. 

Within the Arsenal expert’s take, Watts pinpointed the ‘big turning point’ in the academy jewel’s career in North London.

Arteta dropped the youngster from his plans ahead of Arsenal’s pre-season US tour in 2022, a decision that ‘hit Patino hard’ and caused a ‘massive knock of confidence’.

Watts echoed his belief that the manager could have handled the situation better, with his pre-season omission in 2022 being the possible end of his hopes of making it at the club.

Arsenal will hope to profit on Patino in the future

Given what many expected from Patino following his senior debut against Sunderland back in 2021, the Englishman’s exit price is a shock.

Arsenal will receive just £1m from the 20-year-old’s transfer to Deportivo La Coruna however, it won’t necessarily mark the end of the Gunners’ financial attachment to the Hale End talent.

It’s understood that the North Londoners have inserted a ‘significant sell-on clause’ in the deal with the Spanish side to sell Patino, who could earn his boyhood club millions in the near future.

This week Arsenal have reaped the benefits of adding a sell-on clause to rarely-seen academy talents, as Mark McGuinness handed Edu £2m as part of his transfer from Cardiff City to Luton Town. 

Finances aside, it’s gutting to learn of Patino’s exit, with Arteta possibly to blame for the 20-year-old’s lapse in development in North London.