Arsenal handed transfer blow as wonderkid's exit deemed 'inevitable'

Cameron Smith

• 30 Apr 2024 16:00 BST
• 4 min read

Arsenal midfielder Charlie Patino will leave the club on a permanent deal when the 2023-24 season concludes, according to reports.

The 20-year-old is currently on loan at Championship side Swansea City and despite being highly regarded by those at the Emirates Stadium, his exit has been deemed “inevitable.”

Patino scored just minutes into his senior Arsenal debut during a 5-1 Carabao Cup win over Sunderland in December 2021, but he has only made one more appearance for the Gunners first-team since then and has spent the past two years out on loan.

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The midfielder was loaned to Blackpool for the 2022-23 campaign and after a successful stint with the Tangerines, Patino joined Swansea on a one-year loan deal last summer.

However, he has only made 13 Championship starts this season, with his most recent inclusion in the starting XI coming on New Year's Day.

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What has been said about Charlie Patino’s Arsenal future?

Patino only has 12 months left on his Arsenal contract and will look to leave the Gunners on a permanent deal this summer, according to Charles Watts.

The Arsenal journalist told CaughtOffside: “I think Charlie Patino will leave for good this summer. It was very close to happening last summer. That was the plan at the start of the window, but as the window went on it was decided that he would be sent out on loan again.

“Talks are planned for the end of the season, but I would be very surprised if Patino is still an Arsenal player when the summer window closes this time around. He will still have one year left on his deal and as far as I’m aware, a new one won’t be signed. So it just feels inevitable that he will leave on a permanent basis,” Watts continued.

“It will be a shame because he’s a big talent and maybe he could have been managed a bit better. There did feel like there was an opportunity to give him a bit more game time, or at least have him around the squad a bit more to see how could have handled the step up.

“The decision not to take him on the pre-season tour in 2022 was a strange one in my eyes and I’m not sure things ever really recovered from that.

“He’s had a couple of years of Championship football since then with Blackpool and Swansea and things haven’t always gone smoothly for him on those loans, but they would have been great learning experiences for him and he’s clocked up a lot of playing time at a high standard.

“So the time feels right this summer for him to move on and really try and kickstart his career."