Arsenal are competing at the highest level in the academy game, and there are high hopes for them to become one of the best talent developers in England.
Every club has a different structure, playing style and the way they operate their business. That extends to the academy level, and Arsenal’s Hale End academy is very different to that of Manchester City’s, Chelsea’s or Liverpool’s for that matter.
There is an under-the-radar battle of wits that has been brewing in the background between clubs to produce the best of talents. Chelsea and Manchester City have had big budgets to sign young talents from other clubs at academy levels, which is one reason why they have so many talents spread across different clubs.
Manchester City’s graduates have made a huge impact at a variety of clubs and right now, they are to be seen everywhere. Whether Arsenal thrive to be in that position remains to be seen, but they are creating talents that are helping the team as things stand.
The Hale End Academy has produced a whole lot of notable names over the last many decades. Players like Liam Brady, David O’Leary, Tony Adams, David “Rocky” Rocastle, Perry Groves, Cesc Fabregas, Ashley Cole, and Jack Wilshere have all come through the ranks, while Emile Smith Rowe, Eddie Nketiah, and Bukayo Saka are the most recent high-profile names graduating out of Hale End and successfully making it to the first team.
The Arsenal academy is reportedly operated differently compared to their rivals. The structure there ensures players are being trained from the age of 8-9 up until they are probably 16-17 or at least deemed suitable enough to train with the Under-16 side and above.
From there, it is up to the player’s merits to make it to the first-team squad, and there is a running theory that only 0.01% of players make it to top-level football, not restricted to academies. In that regard, not only at Hale End but all other academies, the turnaround for players from a youth prospect into a first-team star is rather unique in its own way.
As for the Hale End academy, all shackles have been broken or so it seems this season, with more and more talents emerging out of the blue and they seem closer than ever to the first team.
Hale End’s finest
Manchester United fans were gloating about how their club probably nicked two of the most talented players out of the Hale End academy midway through the season in Chido Obi-Martin and Ayden Heaven. The duo is supremely talented without a shadow of a doubt, and they have benefitted from injuries to many United stars to feature in Ruben Amorim’s first team with regularity.
Arsenal wanted to keep the duo, but ‘pathway’ has been the common theme behind their departures. Both players wanted to make a breakthrough in Mikel Arteta’s first team, and in hindsight, Obi-Martin might have had a proper chance to impress considering how depleted Arsenal’s current attacking setup resembles.
While they are supremely talented, Obi-Martin and Heaven are not the most promising prospects out of the Hale End academy, as the important ones are already in Arteta’s first-team plans. At the back of the current international break, Myles Lewis-Skelly has been the biggest story after scoring on his England debut, while Ethan Nwaneri made his mark with his first foray into the Under-21 side for the national team. Both players should soon sign new deals with Arsenal.
Either way, the talented teenage duo has made the necessary impact, and Lewis-Skelly may have made the bigger headway in his development, with Nwaneri not far behind. There are some others like the 15-year-old forward Max Dowman making waves and already training with the first team regularly.
Overall, Arsenal are reaping the rewards of persistent hard work behind the scenes to bring up some of the top-rated talents from the Hale End to the club’s youth sides as well as the first team. There are more on the way probably in the coming years, but for now, let is look at some of their current talents in brief.
Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri
On the business side, the emergence of the teenage duo has theoretically saved Arsenal millions of pounds on two positions they might have spent on. The popular demand among Gunners fans has seen them demand a new winger as well as a midfielder, as Lewis-Skelly and Nwaneri effectively negate those requirements going forward.
Nwaneri has been playing on the right side of the front three and has occasionally been used as a backup to Martin Odegaard. Some see the teenager in the skipper’s role in the long run, while others want Arteta to experiment with him on the left side of the pitch, either as a winger or as a left-eight.
As for Lewis-Skelly, he made the grade to the Under-18s aged 14, which in itself shows his tremendous rise in stature coming through the ranks. It is one thing to break into the first team, but becoming the first choice in probably the most congested position at the club shows how highly-rated and talented Lewis-Skelly is.
After the international break, there is a wild shout about him probably being a starting left-back under Tuchel given the glowing praise he has had from his manager. So, this is a serious talent on Arsenal’s hand, one born and bred in Islington, and one who, given a chance would stay here forever.
Max Dowman
Dowman has made some waves in the background, largely down to the clips circulated on social media. At only 14, he was touted as someone who could play for the first team, and while this is largely a dream scenario, Arteta is not about to rush things.
Downman’s progress has been tremendous with some seeing him as a future striker, while others view him as an attacking midfielder. Either way, he has the skill and poise to be either, although it’s difficult to determine where he might play given he’s only mid-way through his development curve.
There is every chance for Arteta to hand the teenager his debut between now and the end of the campaign in a similar way he did with Nwaneri back in 2022. Should he do that, Dowman could become the youngest ever player to take the pitch in a Premier League game, which would further instill the idea that Hale End is on a rapid rise.
