Three clear winners from Chido Obi-Martin’s Arsenal exit as Arteta can unearth next Eddie Nketiah

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Arsenal have lost rising starlet Chido Obi-Martin from their academy, and he has now joined a direct rival.

Obi-Martin was a goal machine at under-18 level, breaking Folarin Balogun’s Arsenal record, but the striker stalled in contract talks after claiming that he wanted a clear pathway to first-team action.

Arsenal offered him a sizeable deal, but Manchester United blew their offer out of the water financially, and the 16-year-old has now moved to Old Trafford.

It is a blow for Arsenal to lose such a big talent, particularly after Mikel Arteta even held talks with the teenager over his pathway, but there are other talents within the academy aiming to benefit from his departure.

The last striker to succeed in the first-team after graduating from the Hale End Academy was Eddie Nketiah, and with the Englishman nearing a move to Marseille, Arteta will hope that there is a talent who can follow his path.

Khayon Edwards could enjoy Arsenal resurgence after Chido Obi-Martin departure

One top striker talent in the academy is Khayon Edwards. The 20-year-old was excellent at youth level, with 23 goals in 41 games for the under-18s, and 14 goals in 36 games as he stepped up to under-21 level.

Edwards has now returned from a loan at Leyton Orient, and without Obi-Martin threatening to take his place within the under-21s, he has the opportunity to resume his goalscoring exploits and push for a first-team spot.

Nathan Butler-Oyedeji has chance to step up for Arsenal

Nathan Butler-Oyedeji is a versatile striker who offers a lot of speed, and he has scored 12 goals for the under-21s in 47 games.

With Obi-Martin gone, his chances of more minutes have now increased. The likelihood was that Obi-Martin would be promoted to the under-21s for this season, which would have seen Butler-Oyedeji’s game time jeopardised.

Jakai Fisher can now earn under-18s opportunity

With Obi-Martin now absent from the under-18s, youngster Jakai Fisher has the opportunity to gain more game time.

The 17-year-old has made three appearances for the under-18s, but throughout the youth ranks he has developed into a strong penalty box finisher, and the opportunity may be there for him to move to a centre-forward role.

He is younger than the other top striking options within the academy, but if FIsher gains more game time going forward, he could hope to develop into a clinical goalscorer.