Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has lavished praise on a Hale End “boy”, who he says could become one of the club’s “biggest” players.
Hale End academy stars set for bright Arsenal futures
A few obvious names spring to mind when contemplating who could be the next young stars out of Arsenal, with both Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri featuring in matchday squads and on the pitch during the current campaign.
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Lewis-Skelly, who made his senior debut for the north Londoners during their 2-2 draw with Manchester City in the Premier League earlier this season, has featured in every competition since then – with Arsenal’s plague of injury concerns handing the 18-year-old opportunities to impress.
The versatile youngster, usually a midfielder, has played at left-back to cover for the likes of Riccardo Calafiori and Takehiro Tomiyasu off the bench with both first-teamers currently sidelined.
Calafiori will be out for weeks after he was taken off against Shakhtar Donetsk last week, while Tomiyasu won’t return before the next international break.
Takehiro Tomiyasu (Knee)
23/11/2024
Kieran Tierney (Thigh)
23/11/2024
Riccardo Calafiori (Knee)
23/11/2024
Martin Odegaard (Ankle)
10/11/2024
The absence of Martin Odegaard since September has also freed up more space in Arteta’s XI for highly rated attacking midfield gem Nwaneri. Journalist Charles Watts tipped the departure of Emile Smith Rowe to lead to more minutes for Nwaneri, and the reporter has since been proven right.
The 17-year-old, arguably Arsenal’s highest-rated teenage prospect right now, has featured in an array of top-flight matches and boasts three goals from his two starts in the Carabao Cup.
However, as per Arteta, there is one Arsenal academy graduate who will be hard to top: star winger Bukayo Saka.
The £195,000-per-week forward is arguably their most important player, having racked up 20 goals and 14 assists in all competitions last season – and he’s well on the way to amassing similar numbers this term.
Arteta backs Bukayo Saka to become one of Arsenal's all-time greats
Speaking in an interview with TNT Sports prior to their clash with Newcastle at St James’ Park this weekend, Arteta backed Saka to become one of Arsenal’s “biggest” players in their history.
Speaking on things Saka can do to become a legend, Arteta said: “One of them is to increase his leadership role in the team.
“He’s a boy that was raised at the club, through every single brick that is necessary to be at the top level, and I think he has the right values, he has the right temperament, the right character and exceptional ability to become one of our biggest players and create [a] legacy at this football club.
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“In order to do that, his leadership role has to increase. [It’s] leadership in every way. Impacting the team, that’s leadership, making others better, creating higher standards, raising the demands in every level at the football club.
“And when that happens, then you are leading. He’s worn the armband a few times already this season, which is another step up, he’s in the leadership team, so that’s, for me, what he needs to do.”
At just 23 years old, Saka has already achieved so much as a player, not just at club level, but also with England – reaching two major tournament finals. The sky really is the limit for him, and it appears inevitable that the Englishman will be remembered as an icon for decades to come.