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Academy football used to be the bread and butter of English culture. Fans are more inclined to support a player when they are ‘one of their own’. However, the pressure and demands of Premier League riches has forced clubs to look towards more quickfire solutions. It’s now expected for clubs to buy ‘readymade’ foreign players in place of having the patience for youth prospects to come good.
Arsenal has always been known to give young players a chance, the likes of Reiss Nelson and Ainsley Maitland-Niles have broken into the senior squad this season. It was Arsène Wenger that laid the foundations for this breakthrough as he always gave youth players a chance to shine. However, even under his watch, a few gems were given their marching papers.
Here are three youngsters Arsenal regret selling.
#3 Ismael Bennacer
Back in 2015, a young midfielder arrived from Ligue 2 with massive expectations attached to his name. Throughout his whole time in North London, Ismael Bennacer only made one senior appearance in a League Cup match.
The following year he would be loaned out to Tours in which he made 16 appearances. After two years at the club, Bennacer was finally shipped off to Empoli in sharpish fashion. The Gunners weren’t completely blind to his undeniable talent and negotiated a buy-back clause in his sale.
In 2019, the midfielder made a progressive move to AC Milan for €16million, the Gunners received 30% of this fee as they decided not to activate their buy-back option. The Algerian has since gone on to be a main focal point of Milan’s midfield, regularly controlling games by himself. In a time where Arsenal are scrambling for midfield options across Europe, it’s funny to know they used to own the answer to their current problems.
#2 Wojciech Szczesny
When a player can leave the Emirates and stroll into the first XI of Roma and Juventus, you know he’s top quality. Not only did Wojciech Szczesny just stroll into the starting XI, but he also dethroned one of the greatest keepers in modern history, Gianluigi Buffon.
The Poland international joined Arsenal when he was just 16 years old and rocketed himself to being the club’s no.1 keeper at 21. The youngster achieved greatness from early in his Arsenal career, keeping the no.1 spot for three and a half seasons whilst also winning one golden glove award.
Things went downhill for the keeper when he was caught smoking in the changing room after a rare poor performance. Wenger defended him in public but on the pitch, he began to play David Ospina ahead of him. With that, his days were numbered, and Arsenal made the costly decision of selling him for £10.2million. The 29-year-old is known as one of the best keepers in the world, with his team looking to become the champions of Europe this season.
#1 Serge Gnabry
This may be the most painful departure to accept for Arsenal fans. Under Arsène Wenger, Serge Gnabry was showing signs of immense quality from the age of 19. The youngster was especially praised for a memorable FA Cup performance against Tottenham, in which the Gunners won 2-0.
It’s reported that Gnabry left London because Arsenal refused to meet his contractual demands. They didn’t deem him worth the money he was demanding and instead decided to sell him to Werder Bremen for a measly £5million. After just one season, his talent was too undeniable for Bayern Munich not to come calling.
Since arriving at the biggest club in Germany, the 24-year-old has directly contributed to 41 goals in just 64 appearances. Most recently, Bayern’s 7-2 destruction of Spurs highlighted Gnabry’s world-class quality, in which the winger scored 4 goals. Alongside Kinsley Coman, the duo terrorise the Bundesliga on a weekly basis. Arsenal rue the day they sold the German, especially when they look at the state of their current squad.
