Obi Martin to Man Utd: Why Arsenal fans should worry about 32-goal striker's exit

While fans of any side are always thrilled to witness their home-grown talents make the grade and establish a burgeoning reputation at their boyhood team, Gooners' love for the North London born and bred can be traced back to the pre-Arsene Wenger days.

After all, two members of the famed back four - Martin Keown and Tony Adams - grew up in red and white, as did Paul Merson and Ashley Cole, and during Arsenal's years of financial turmoil, youth was the foundation of Wenger's project.

Paying off a sizeable stadium debt meant that Arsenal were unable to win bidding wars for the top stars, and while that may no longer be the case, Gooners remain as desperate as ever to see the students of the Under-18s and Under-23s graduate to big school.

However, that will not be the case for 16-year-old attacking prodigy Chido Obi Martin, who has already confirmed that he has decided against extending his Gunners contract, and it is only a matter of time before he is unveiled as Manchester United's latest recruit.

The Gunners are thought to have made Obi Martin a tempting offer to extend his contract in North London, although it would have only been on scholarship terms; he cannot sign a professional deal with an English club until he turns 17 in November.

Arsenal losing Thierry Henry-esque striker to bitter rivals

Of course, Obi Martin's scholarship renewal would have almost certainly preceded the striker penning professional terms on the same day he blows out 17 candles, but the 16-year-old has decided that the Old Trafford project is the one for him.

While the fledgling striker is still too young to even obtain his driving licence, he has been the driving force of Arsenal's embryonic attackers for the past 12 months; Liverpool's Under-16 defenders ought to have had nightmares about Obi Martin for weeks after he scored a tremendous 10 goals - yes, 10 goals - in one game against the Reds.

The step-up to Under-18 level did not faze Obi Martin either, as demonstrated by a whopping 32 goals in just 18 matches in 2023-24. Such form also earned the striker his Under-21s baptism, mixing it with players who have already reached adulthood, as well as his continental baptism in the UEFA Youth League.

One's eyes may widen when taking a quick glance at Obi Martin's 2023-24 report card. Seven goals against Norwich City, five against West Ham United, four against Crystal Palace and Fulham, and hat-tricks against Chelsea and Southampton. Not to mention scoring in each of his last nine appearances of the season. A* student.

Already towering over many of his teenage foes at 6ft 2in tall, Obi Martin bears a striking resemblance to Thierry Henry, only one of the greatest players to ever kick a Premier League football and arguably the greatest to ever do it in the red and white of Arsenal.

Whether it be his lethal finishing, intimidating size or penchant to go on charging runs from deep, Obi Martin certainly has a bit of the 'va va voom' about him, as well as nonchalantly chipping goalkeepers in the same manner as a prime Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Arteta paying the price for Champions League calls?

The Arsenal shirt is not the only shade of red that Obi Martin scores for fun in; he has also struck 11 goals in just 18 matches for Denmark's Under-17s, having briefly represented England before pledging allegiance to the Scandinavians.

Having already exploded into one of the most talented teenage attackers in the land while under the wing of the Arsenal academy coaches, as well as being invited to train with Mikel Arteta's first team, the glass-half-full Arsenal brigade may have been optimistic that Obi Martin had no real reason to continue his development away from the club.

However, the Dane reportedly believes that the pathway to first-team football is far clearer at Old Trafford, where under-fire head coach Erik ten Hag witnessed the young trilogy of Kobbie Mainoo, Alejandro Garnacho and Rasmus Hojlund save his bacon on several occasions last term.

In contrast, opportunities for the up-and-coming Arsenal products were far more limited, which Arteta can be partially forgiven for; the Spaniard had no need to fix what was not broken as the Gunners sustained their title charge, but Man United's regression forced Ten Hag to chop and change.

That is not to say that Arteta simply disregarded the young talents entirely. Ethan Nwaneri - who the Spaniard made the Premier League's youngest-ever player in 2022 - was a late substitute in the 6-0 thrashing of West Ham United, while Charles Sagoe Jr started the EFL Cup third-round win at Brentford.

Nevertheless, there were a couple of occasions in last season's Champions League where Arteta maybe could have thrown on some of the Hale End boys - even for a brief moment - but decided against doing so. Firstly, the 6-0 home thumping of Lens - where Arsenal were 5-0 up by half time - saw Ben White, Jorginho, Jakub Kiwior, Eddie Nketiah and Reiss Nelson all brought on at some stage. Nwaneri and talented midfield product Myles Lewis-Skelly had to watch on from the bench.

Obi Martin exit continues recent Arsenal academy trend

Now, Kiwior could leave after Riccardo Calafiori's arrival, while Nketiah and Nelson - the latter of whom was often frozen out of Premier League squads - are being heavily linked with exits too.

Arsenal had already qualified for the last 16 in first place by the time they faced PSV Eindhoven last up, and Arteta unsurprisingly shuffled the pack. Starts for Mohamed Elneny and Cedric Soares - who both left as free agents this summer - were fair enough given their experience, but bringing on the likes of White, Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice for a dead rubber raised eyebrows, especially when Nwaneri and Reuell Walters were pining for a chance off the bench.

While Nwaneri was convinced to pen fresh terms, Walters rejected the chance to do so and is now plying his trade at Luton Town. Highly-rated attacker Amario Cozier-Duberry's head turned too; he will be lining up against Arsenal for Brighton & Hove Albion this season.

More may follow in the coming weeks. Charlie Patino - once hailed as one of the best products in the Hale End ranks - looks set to leave, at a time when Arsenal are looking for a midfielder of his profile in the transfer market. What the future holds for talented right-back Brooke Norton-Cuffy is unclear too.

With all of Walters, Cozier-Duberry and now Obi Martin seemingly giving up on breaking into the Arsenal first team, the Gunners are said to be working on Evening Standard claims that Arsenal have formulated an 'aggressive' strategy to tie down their young prospects, although the best strategy would surely be to expose them to first-team minutes when the chance arises, no?

The progress that Arsenal have made under Arteta's wing has been meteoric, and no-one is denying that it is harder for young players to break up the established first-team order now than it was five years ago. But should Arteta - a manager whose substitutions have often been questioned - continue to needlessly risk senior players in ties that are foregone conclusions, rather than baptise the young stars, expect a few more to clear out their Hale End lockers.