Arsenal's 'aggressive' transfer plan to avoid Obi-Martin repeat

Updated: 25 Jul 2024 09:04 BST
3 min read

Mikel Arteta is looking to make amends with his Arsenal squad after seeing one of their brightest youngsters in Chido Obi-Martin leave the club this summer.

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The Gunners were left frustrated after failing to agree professional terms with Obi-Martin, with the 16-year-old believed to be in advanced talks to join Manchester United.

FootballTransfers understands that Arsenal offered the Danish teenager a ‘fair’ deal, however Obi-Martin was eventually asked to leave the club after rejecting the contract and seeking better terms.

The loss of Obi-Martin caused a portion of Arsenal’s fan base to question Arteta’s youth policy, having failed to provide a pathway to playing time for a number of the club’s academy graduates.

However, Arteta appears to have reacted strongly to the departure, with no fewer than 12 academy graduates joining the first-team squad on their pre-season tour of the United States.

The inclusion of the youngsters is in stark contrast to Arsenal’s visit to the US during last year’s pre-season, which saw just one teenager join the club on their tour.

© IMAGO - Mikel Arteta is determined not to lose more talent from Arsenal's academy.

Arteta struggling to blood academy talent into high-flying Arsenal

During Arteta’s four-and-a-half years in charge of the Gunners, just one teenager has been given a debut in the Premier League for Arsenal in Ethan Nwaneri despite the club often having one of the lowest average ages in the division.

While Arteta would argue that Arsenal’s challenging at the top of the Premier League has meant that he has been unable to afford opportunities to unproven youngsters, the club’s identity of promoting youth players has perhaps declined in recent seasons.

Although the first-team squad still boasts academy talent such as Emile Smith Rowe, Reiss Nelson and Eddie Nketiah, all three players could be sold this summer, having been on the fringes of Arsenal’s first team.

Having seen teenagers Amario Cozier-Duberry and Reuell Walters also leave the club this summer, the likes of Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly will be hoping to impress during pre-season.

Arsenal appear to have become more aggressive with their recruitment at youth level to perhaps soften the blow of seeing some youngsters depart, with goalkeeper Tommy Setford signing from Ajax last week for just over €1 million.