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Midfielder Mishel Nduka is set to join Manchester City after turning down Arsenal’s offer of a scholarship contract, as reported by David Ornstein.
Nduka joined Arsenal’s academy just a year ago having previously been at Charlton Athletic.
Last season Nduka started off playing at U16 level but was later given opportunities for older age groups.
In total the prospect played ten times for Arsenal at U18 level. He also featured for the U21s and U19s, being sent off against Club Brugge for the latter age group.
There is no doubt that Nduka is a very talented player and it is a shame for Arsenal to lose him.
However, in this case it appears that there was little more that Arsenal could have done as they gave him plenty of opportunities last campaign and would surely have promised him more this time around.
It is also very rare for a player to join Arsenal as an U16 and not subsequently sign scholarship terms with the club.
Perhaps Nduka may feel he has a better chance of a first-team breakthrough at City but Arsenal have shown that they are willing to promote exceptional talents such as Max Dowman and Marli Salmon.
Arsenal face the risk of their new scholarship intake being somewhat small in terms of numbers especially following Kyran Thompson’s decision to join Newcastle.
The Gunners will now be focusing on those who are still at the club, with a new set of U16 prospects looking to make an impact this season such as Mikael Bonaventure Yetna.