Arsenal’s Hale End academy has provided some of the club’s most exciting and prominent players in recent years, with the astronomical rise of Bukayo Saka a clear indicator of just how good the youth system can be when utilised properly.
Outside of the first team squad, the academy has been used as a key tool in raising funds to re-invest in the team, with Emile Smith-Rowe, Folarin Balogun and Eddie Nketiah all leaving the club in recent years for massive fees.
Looking further back, footballing icons Ashley Cole, Cesc Fabregas and Andy Cole all passed through the Arsenal academy, proving this success is not just a flash in the pan
Arsenal slam the door shut on wonderkid exit rumours
Teenage pair Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly are the latest elite-level talents wheeled of the production line in North London, quickly establishing themselves as key figures in Arteta’s side this season.
The pair have made a combined 35 appearances in the league, with the latter recently receiving his first senior England call-up as a reward for his remarkable form.
However, it is Ethan Nwaneri who appears to be drawing interest from Europe’s biggest clubs, most notably Real Madrid, if reports from JustArsenal are to be believed.
It claims that Madrid, alongside AC Milan and Paris Saint Germain, are all keeping a close eye on the 17-year-old, who ranked at no.12 in FourFourTwo’s list of the most exciting teenagers to watch this season.
Despite this, the report suggests that any approach with be emphatically rebuffed by the Gunners, who unsurprisingly see the youngster as a key part of their squad for the near and distant future.
Arsenal proved this by offering the midfielder his first professional contract in March of last year at the age of 16 having made his Premier League debut a full year prior, becoming the English top flight’s youngest-ever appearance maker.
Nwaneri has recorded eight goals and one assist in all competitions so far this season, dazzling fans and critics alike with his remarkable close control and eye for a pass.
If he were to continue his current vein of form, it surely wouldn’t be long before the likes of Martin Odegaard and Saka begin sweating about the security of their own place in Arteta’s starting lineup.
