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Over the years, Arsenal's academy has been a real quality source of supplying talent regularly to the first team. They have produced some standout stars at U18 and U21 levels. The Gunners are also known for integrating budding talent into the squad from an early age, inviting deserving candidates for first-team training.
This is a trend that particularly blew up at Arsenal after the arrival of Arsene Wenger, who was interested in nurturing youngsters and helping them reach their full potential.
Arsenal have honed some serious talent over the years
Arsenal's scouting system has actively spotted unique talent from various parts of Europe as well since the start of the century.
However, at times it becomes too difficult to live up to the expectations and match the demands of the game at the highest level. After all, for every Jack Wilshere, Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe there are those who crumble under pressure or can't manage to break into the Arsenal first team.
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Lauded for being ahead of their years, here are five Arsenal academy graduates of the last decade (2011-21) who eventually failed to justify their potential:
#5 Ben Sheaf
Touted by Arsene Wenger as someone who was "always ahead of the game," Ben Sheaf is another one of those promising Arsenal graduates who failed to fulfill their potential. He is the most recent player to leave Arsenal among those who feature on this list.
Sheaf started with West Ham Academy but switched to Arsenal in 2014 and represented the Gunners at youth level in various competitions until 2017. Sheaf only ever made two appearances for the first team at Arsenal, one in the EFL Cup and the other in a Europa League game, both in 2017.
The Arsenal graduate was primarily a central midfielder who was praised for his ability to pick passes effortlessly and was usually tasked with protecting the back-line. He served in the north London outfit for seven years but was never really able to force his way into the first team plans.
As such, he was forced to go out on loan spells at Doncaster Rovers, Stevenage and Coventry City. In 2021, Sheaf bid his final goodbye to his parent club to join Coventry City on a permanent deal.
#4 Chuba Akpom
Chuba Akpom had been an Arsenal man through and through since the age of six when he joined the academy. He was a prolific striker for the club at various youth levels and maintained his scoring record for the Gunners as he progressed through the academy ranks.
However, when it came to competing for a centre-forward spot in the first team, he had teammates who were senior and far superior in quality to compete with. Six consecutive years of loan spells starting in 2013 were all seen as opportunities for Akpom to convert and earn his right to stay at Arsenal.
However, the loan spells were really underwhelming on the striker's part, who did not show enough to impress the Championship sides. When Arsenal were convinced they were parting ways with the striker, no Championship side really showed any eagerness to take Akpom.
The Englishman only made a mere 12 appearances for the north London club at senior level and failed to find the back of the net. In 2018, he joined the Greek Super League side PAOK, and in two seasons scored 18 goals for them in 79 apperances.
In 2020 he joined English club Middlesborough, but couldn't make himself an integral part of the squad. He is currently back at PAOK, but on loan.
#3 Gedion Zelalem
Spotted at the prestigious Dallas Cup in the US by former Arsenal player and scout Danny Karbassiyoon, Gedion Zelalem joined the club in 2013 from Olney Rangers. In 2013, he joined Arsenal's first team for a tour of Asia, where he gave glimpses of the star he could turn into.
The coaches who saw him before he joined Arsenal raved about how his technical abilities and intelligence on the field was a very rare sight in US football's youth system.
But since then he has shown a rather slow rate of progress and his light frame was always considered inappropriate because of the intensity of Premier League football. While the German-born midfielder struggled to break into the first team, there were names like Ainsley Maintland-Niles and Jeff Reine-Adelaide who were proving their worth at Arsenal Academy.
Zelalem did not feature for Arsenal in a single Premier League game and his game time in FA Cup and League Cup fixtures was also limited. After 2015, he went on loan to Rangers and VVV Venlo until finally being bought by Major League Soccer side Sporting Kansas City in 2019.
Many agree that the downfall of his career and final blow to his hopes of making it big at Arsenal were initiated by an injury he suffered in 2017. He currently plays for MLS side New York City FC.
#2 Marcus McGuane
Arsenal were forging a potential future leader and a candidate for the captain's armband in the U18 setup back in 2015. Marcus McGuane was a regular standout in the youth setup and was enthusiastically promoted to the U23s by the coaches. He wore the captain's armband for the U18s and his commanding presence saw sides like Juventus and Manchester United keep tabs on him.
In 2017, after progressing through the ranks at Arsenal from the age of six, McGuane finally made his debut in a Europa League game. Arsene Wenger wanted to be patient with the emerging youngster but he grew impatient.
In search of regular football, capitalizing on his reputation, he signed for FC Barcelona, who intended to play him in their B team. McGuane managed a rare feat when he debuted for Blaugrana's senior side in the Super Cup against Espanyol. He became the first English player to play for Barcelona since Gary Lineker.
A change in head coach for the Barcelona B side is seen as the main reason for McGuane failing to take big steps with the Spanish giants. Since then he's just loitered around wherever he can find regular football.
After a loan spell with second-tier Dutch side Telstar, McGuane signed for Nottingham Forest. He did not make any appearances for them as he left for a loan at Oxford United, where he permanently joined this year.
#1 Chris Willock
Chris Willock is the brother of former Arsenal midfielder Joe Willock, who left this season for Newcastle United. Unlike Joe, whose run of form last season helped him make his name in the Premier League, older brother Chris is somewhat of a forgotten name among Arsenal fans
In order to accelerate his progress and further his career, Willock left Arsenal and joined Benfica in 2017. Unfortunately for him, all the game time he got was with the Benfica B side and never really got to feature for their senior team. Loans to West Bromwich Albion and Huddersfield Town followed, with his exit from Benfica looking likely.
The talented forward is enjoying a second-wind right now at Queens Park Rangers in terms of how his career stagnated. Senior Willock has shown that there is still enough gas on his feet and his engine is still running fine. He'll be hoping not to stay as a B team player or a Championship player after this campaign. However, there is no denying the fact that he did not fulfill his potential at Arsenal.
