Former Arsenal winger Omari Hutchinson has revealed exactly how he’s felt about returning to the Emirates Stadium since leaving.
Hutchinson left for Chelsea in the summer of 2022, after having spent seven years in the Hale End academy.
Failing to break into a bloated first team at Stamford Bridge, he left West London for Ipswich last year, before joining Nottingham Forest in the latest transfer window.
The 22-year-old has been criticised by some Gunners supporters for leaving for the North London club’s bitter rivals, and this appears to have impacted how he feels about playing in N5 nowadays.
Omari Hutchinson says the Emirates is a ‘tough place to play’
Hutchinson isn’t the only Hale End graduate who has departed for a rival club and faced animosity because of it.
Young striker Chido Obi joined Manchester United from Arsenal last January, as did centre-back Ayden Heaven.
Both players have been subjected to some disparagement from Gunners supporters, who felt there were better opportunities in N5, and that players who felt any meaningful connection for the North London outfit wouldn’t jump ship for a rival.
Ultimately, a path to senior minutes would’ve been sold to the likes of Hutchinson, while a lucrative contract was also likely proposed.
This hasn’t stopped fans from voicing their frustrations at these aforementioned players. Hutchinson was booed at the Emirates when Arsenal beat Ipswich last December.
This has evidently seeped into how he feels about playing at the ground in Islington these days.
Speaking to TNT Sports, the wide man was asked what the ‘scariest’ stadium in the Premier League is to play at.
“I wouldn’t say scary, but a tough place to play at is Emirates,” Hutchinson replied. “Always.”
Omari Hutchinson was right to leave Arsenal
As much as it’ll have frustrated Arsenal fans to have seen a promising youngster swap North London for West London, Hutchinson made the correct decision for his career.
The Forest man was trying to break through into the Gunners’ first team at a time when Bukayo Saka was establishing himself as Mikel Arteta’s side’s talisman.
The likes of Gabriel Martinelli, Reiss Nelson and Emile Smith Rowe were also at Arteta’s disposal at this time, and all of them were clearly ahead of Hutchinson in the pecking order.
He received a lucrative offer from Chelsea, where there was less certainty in the wide areas, on a long contract which would guarantee him big money for several years.
This simply would’ve been too difficult a proposal to turn down at the time, for a youngster whose status as a professional footballer wasn’t even guaranteed at Arsenal.
He’s now enjoying a solid career at the top level, which may not have materialised as quickly had he chosen to stick around at the Emirates for much longer.
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