It was announced yesterday that Josh Nichols will join Croatian side NK Kustosija when his Arsenal contract expires at the end of the month.
In the second half of this season Nichols (19) had found himself somewhat isolated from the U21 matchday squad before returning to feature in the playoff defeat against Manchester City which turned out to be his final appearance for the club.
A hard-working player, Nichols is mainly a right-back but can also operate in the opposite full-back berth and always gave his all for the club.
One of the longest serving academy players at Arsenal, he progressed through the ranks at Hale End to sign scholarship terms in 2022 and then turned professional two years later.
A competitive first-team debut followed as Nichols gave a good account of himself against Bolton Wanderers in the Carabao Cup in 2024.
During his time at Arsenal Nichols was involved in pre-season tours with the first-team and was also named on the bench in the Premier League and the Champions League.
It could be argued that Arsenal could have managed his development better at times in terms of perhaps loaning him out or selling him earlier.
Heading to Croatia may be seen as a somewhat unusual choice but a growing number of Hale End products have elected to move abroad in recent years after leaving Arsenal, including the likes of Nathan Butler-Oyedeji, Jimi Gower and Khayon Edwards.
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Jeorge Bird is the author of www.arsenalyouth.wordpress.com Follow him on Twitter @jeorgebird