5 promising Arsenal academy graduates who failed to fulfill their potential in the last decade

#3 Gedion Zelalem

Tottenham Hotspur v Arsenal - Premier League 2

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.

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#2 Marcus McGuane

Marcus McGuane (left)

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.

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#1 Chris Willock

Willock has 2 goals and 2 assists in Championship in 11 appearances this season

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.