Arsenal academy starlet Emerson Nwaneri could leave the Gunners this summer, according to Next Generation Arsenal. The Emirates Stadium club have some of the best youngsters in England and first-team manager Mikel Arteta always looks to include some of them in training sessions. However, the Nwaneri family are not convinced their younger son has a clear pathway to the senior Arsenal squad. There are now concerns Emerson may not be signing his scholarship and could leave the Gunners this summer.
Academy Exclusive🚨:
There is some concern that Emerson Nwaneri may not be signing his scholarship and could leave Arsenal this summer.
Some doubts have been raised from the Nwaneri family regarding the future pathway for the 15 year old.
Hopefully a salvageable situation for AFC pic.twitter.com/V6TrhXANVn
— Next Generation Arsenal (@scoutingindoors) May 19, 2026
The 15-year-old made history in January by becoming the youngest ever player to start for Arsenal’s under-21s, playing in a Premier League 2 game against Liverpool at the age of 15 years and 152 days. Emerson beat the record set by his brother Ethan in 2022 and has also represented the Gunners at under-19s, under-18s and under-16s. Arsenal will be desperate to hold on to him as it was expected that he would be signing his scholarship at the end of this season.
However, it appears that is not the case, which could be a big blow for the North London club. While Emerson is primarily an attacking midfielder, he can also play as a number 9 and even at right-back. His impressive passing ability has also been noted by his coaches and Arsenal will hope he follows in the footsteps of his brother and plays for the first-team. He was paraded in front of the Emirates Stadium crowd alongside other seven Arsenal youth players back in February. He had been called up to the UEFA Youth League squad as a schoolboy at the time, getting presented with his matchday shirt by Per Mertesacker and Head of Academy Coaching Luke Hobbs.
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