Mikel Arteta Addresses Chido Obi Exit & Hale End’s Perception

Arteta brushes off Chido Obi exit…

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has finally addressed the summer exit of academy striker Chido Obi Martin who left for Manchester United, Sky Sports News reports.

At the time, those close to the striker briefed the press that the 17-year-old’s move was motivated by a clear pathway to the first team, rejecting the idea that finances influenced his decision.

It followed a period where there seemed to be a Hale End exodus with the lies of Lino Sousa and Amario Cozier-Duberry leaving for Aston Villa and Brighton respectively.

However, since then, we’ve seen the emergence of Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri into the first team and their level of performances at the highest level continue to marvel onlookers.

Meanwhile, the aforementioned trio who’ve departed haven’t made an impact of note and are yet to prove the academy system wrong.

“I wasn’t too involved in that decision, when a player decides the best outcome for him is to leave, there’s not a lot you can do,” Arteta said in his pre-match press conference.

“It’s very unfortunate because we want to keep our players from the academy and for them to be very successful with the first team, but in that case and with Ayden [Heaven], we weren’t able to do that.

I don’t know what the perception is outside, but internally no. The reality is very different because there are those players [Lewis-Skelly and Nwaneri]  are with us. I guarantee you that if there is a player that can help and impact the first team, they will be with us.”

In fairness to Arteta and the club’s decision-makers, there hasn’t been an academy player who’s made us regret letting them go without being given a chance in decades.

Chido Obi only joined the club at the age of 14 from Denmark and when you speak to academy officials across the country, a player who arrives that late in his development is more likely to move again.

Arsenal’s focus will be on bringing through players they’ve nurtured all the way through – with Max Dowman next up.

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