Arsenal have lost a top young talent in striker Chido Obi-Martin, who is joining old rivals Manchester United after rejecting a deal to stay at Hale End.
The striker broke records for the Arsenal under-18s last season, as he scored an extraordinary 32 goals in 20 under-18 Premier League games, and was earmarked as a potential future superstar.
Arsenal were keen to keep him, with Mikel Arteta stepping into talks to convince him that there was a first-team pathway for him, but Man United’s offer was too good to turn down.
Whilst Arsenal fans may lament the loss of such a talent due to the financial terms offered by United, there is an argument to be made that right now, there is more of a pathway to action at Old Trafford than the Emirates.
Man United have given more chances to teenagers than Arsenal
A shocking stat from last season shows that Arsenal gave just 13 minutes of Premier League action to teenagers, with Ethan Nwaneri coming on in a substitute appearance against West Ham.
By comparison, Man United gave 4924 minutes to teenagers. Midfielder Kobbie Mainoo enjoyed a stunning breakthrough, which earned him a spot in the England lineup for Euro 2024.
Alejandro Garnacho was 19 at the start of last season, and also played a key role for United, who struggled throughout the campaign and finished in eighth place.
Willy Kambwala, Omari Forsun and Dan Gore also contributed to this, and it showed that United were able to give more minutes to their academy stars than Arsenal were. However, Mikel Arteta cannot be blamed for this unfortunate scenario.
Why teenagers have easier path to action at Arsenal than Manchester United
Arsenal now have an incredibly competitive first-team, which is challenging Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table.
The squad is now so competitive, that senior players are being starved of minutes. Emile Smith Rowe will now leave after starting just three games last season, whilst Eddie Nketiah did not manage a single start since December.
Reiss Nelson and Fabio Vieira also found themselves out in the cold at times, and Nelson even failed to make the bench when Arteta had a fully fit squad at his disposal.
At that point in the season, with every single point crucial in the title race, there was simply no room to try and integrate a teenager, no matter how talented they were at youth level.
When Arteta was working with a below-par squad which finished eighth, Bukayo Saka, Smith Rowe and Gabriel Martinelli were given significant minutes as teenagers. He now cannot be blamed for failing to give chances to talents now when the squad is levels ahead of United’s in depth and quality.
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