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Youth academies have always played a crucial part in nurturing special prospects around the globe. One of the most famous academies in England for youth football continues to be Arsenal's. The club continues to be led by Arsene Wenger's vision of allowing young talent to accommodate themselves into the first team set up.
Arsenal continue to rely on their academy talent
The impact of Arsenal's graduates is clearly visible in Mikel Arteta's current squad. In fact, one of the few reasons the Gooners appreciated ex-boss Unai Emery was for integrating these youngsters into the senior squad.
On that note, here's a look at five of the most capable football professionals Arsenal have produced through their youth system in the last decade.
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Without further delay, let's delve straight into it:
#5 Hector Bellerin
If Arsenal somehow fail to grow talent for future generations, they usually tend to pickpocket some good academies across Europe. After bearing the fruit of Cesc Fabregas’ brilliance their interest only grew in Barcelona’s La Masia Academy.
So they went searching again in 2011, a right-back this time. La Masia was kind enough to let Hector Bellerin leave. He was 16 when he arrived and was a part of the youth system for the next two years. His competitive debut came in 2013 in a League Cup win against West Bromwich Albion.
After a brief loan spell at Watford in 2013-14, he was accommodated into the senior Arsenal squad. Bellerin was competing for a regular spot with the likes of Mathieu Debuchy, Calum Chambers and Nacho Monreal. However, it didn’t take long for Bellerin to earn bragging rights of being Arsenal’s first choice right-back, thanks to his explosive pace.
For three consecutive seasons from 2015-2018, Bellerin made more than 40 appearances for Arsenal in all competitions. It was around those years that he was counted amongst the fastest players in the Premier League. He would very often find himself contributing in the final third. But before Bellerin could take his game another few notches up, he suffered an ACL injury to his left knee in 2019.
He’s never looked the same since and has at times been on the receiving end of some criticism from the Arsenal faithful.
After 239 senior appearances, nine goals and 29 assists for Arsenal's senior squad, Bellerin decided to move to newer pastures. He was always keen to move back to Spain someday and finally secured a loan move to Real Betis, a club his father adores.
#4 Emile Smith Rowe
When former Arsenal great Tony Adams compared Emile Smith Rowe to the elegant Robert Pires, many felt it was perhaps an overplay of sentiment. However, there is a fair share of those who feel the resemblance cannot be discarded just like that. Well, whatever the case, Smith Rowe has done no harm to his reputation and finds himself constantly adored by the Gooners.
He first signed for Arsenal when he was 10, back in 2010. The young Englishman has since come through the ranks and when fully fit is usually guaranteed a start under Mikel Arteta. On the back of consistently productive performances at the youth level, Smith Rowe made his dream breakthrough in 2018. He accompanied Arsenal to Singapore on their pre-season tour and scored his first for the senior team.
Unai Emery was well aware of his potential. When Smith Rowe was brought in as a substitute in a Europa League game in 2018, he became the first player born in the 21st century to play for Arsenal in a competitive game. As is customary for most Arsenal talents, Smith Rowe was sent on loan to Leipzig and then to Huddersfield Town.
The latter helped Smith Rowe accustom himself to the physicality of English football and the pace of it. Last season, Smith Rowe cemented his place in Arteta’s side filling the playmaker’s void that was left by Mesut Ozil. Smith Rowe’s impressive vision on field, his one touch passes and the ability to play on half-turn has earned him the nickname, “Croydon De Bruyne”.
#3 Emiliano Martinez
Arsenal fans remain bitter-sweet about this one. In professional football, you’ll almost never see an individual wish for an injury to another player, even his worst enemies. But injuries are part and parcel of the game at an elite level and they have to be negotiated with.
Practically, if it weren’t for an injury, and a bad one at that to Arsenal’s number one Bernd Leno, Martinez would have to sit out on this list. Interestingly, it was history repeating itself once again. The Argentina international made his Premier League debut under somewhat similar circumstances.
Back in 2014, Martinez replaced Arsenal's first choice Wojciech Szczęsny who suffered an injury in the second half against Manchester United. The Arsenal academy graduate's decade-long stay in north London consisted of six loan spells.
Finally, with the injury mentioned earlier to Leno, Martinez became a regular starter for Arsenal in the Premier League and the FA Cup starting June 2020. It didn’t take long for fear to turn into hope and optimism. Martinez put in a string of composed and effective performances which sparked debate about whether he deserved to be the number one keeper at Arsenal.
Emotions got the better of the Argentine when Arsenal beat Chelsea to lift the 2020 FA Cup. He realized that his potential and talent had been on display and that another Premier League club would avail his services. Martinez wished to be Arsenal’s number one keeper choice and when denied, decided to part ways with the Gunners.
Ever since leaving for Aston Villa in 2020, he’s been pretty vocal about how his relationship with Arsenal turned into a toxic one. At Villa, Martinez started all 38 games in the Premier League and kept 15 clean sheets. A figure that was only bettered by Ederson of Manchester City and Edouard Mendy of Chelsea.
The Gunners' fan base stands divided on whether the decision to sell him was rational or not. But with everything said and done, Martinez made a massive contribution when he was called upon and only earned praise and admiration for his final few performances at Arsenal.
#2 Bukayo Saka
Another bright young lad straight from that mill in Arsenal’s Hale End Academy. Bukayo Saka became a fan favorite at Arsenal within a span of a year since his debut in 2018. His debut came a month after Emile Smith Rowe played against the same opposition Vorskla Poltava in the Europa League.
Arsenal’s youth system is usually methodical in the sense that most academy products go out on loan before making a big breakthrough. However, Saka was special. Even though just 17 at the time of his debut, he was closely involved with the senior squad since then.
In 2019, Saka produced a performance that made everyone stand up and take notice. With two assists and a stunner of a goal against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League, Saka announced he was here to make it big.
Yet again it was the case of another Arsenal youngster making the most of injuries to first-team starters. Saka’s versatility allowed him to fill the spots left by injured Kieran Tierney and Sead Kolasinac at left-back. The 2020-21 season saw Saka feature in 32 games in the Premier League. He scored on five occasions and assisted another four goals.
But stats wouldn’t do enough justice to what the young lad would bring on the field. Saka has the ability to take on defenders one on one, he’s great with linking up with strikers and can come deep to take the ball forward.
Gareth Southgate was impressed by the young Arsenal prospect's skill-set and decided to include him in the 26-man squad for Euro 2020. Southgate’s trust in Saka was second to none and the England manager entrusted him with a massively important final penalty in the Euros final against Italy. Although he failed to convert it, Saka has received overwhelming support since then and has become a youth icon across England.
#1 Serge Gnabry
At the summit of this list is a player who has seen rock bottom very early in his playing career. From being deemed “not good enough” to play for West Bromwich Albion to becoming a force to reckon with at Bayern Munich, Gnabry has made it big and how.
These are difficult times at Arsenal. They are struggling to retain their top four status in the Premier League and are devoid of European Football for the first time in 26 years. However, these are very exciting times for German international Gnabry, who is regularly contesting with Europe’s elite in the Champions League and is also a proud winner.
The change of fortune took a serious test of his resilience and patience. He joined Arsenal a decade ago in 2011 from German club Stuttgart’s academy. After two years in Arsenal’s youth setup, Gnabry made his first appearance for the senior squad in 2013. However, then manager Arsene Wenger believed that Gnabry needs more time. He was sent back to the reserves.
In 2015 when Gnabry was loaned to West Bromwich Albion, the Arsenal faithful were hopeful that the move would help the player come of age. West Brom manager Tony Pulis’ brutal verdict on Gnabry meant time was running out for him to save his Arsenal career.
The north London side decided to let go of Gnabry for a mere €5 million. He found his lost spark at Werder Bremen. It was then that Bayern Munich came calling and, in what turned out to be some clever business, bought him for €8 million.
Bayern were aware that with Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery and Thomas Mueller around, there was little hope for Gnabry to become a regular. That’s when a loan move to Hoffenheim did a world of good.
His 17 goal involvements showcased that the ceiling was higher than everyone presumed. Gnabry returned to the Bavarians in 2018 where Niko Kovac’s system and an injury to Arjen Robben allowed him to find his feet and settle in the squad. The next time Gnabry visited north London to face Arsenal's fierce rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League, he netted four goals in a 7-2 win for Bayern.
Clearly, the Arsenal academy graduate has enjoyed an unbelievable turnaround in fortunes.
