Arsenal had a fine reputation for youth development during the Arsene Wenger era – but not every youngster made the grade at the Emirates.
Back in 2015, the Gunners were optimistic about challenging for the Premier League title and bought in Petr Cech to reinforce the side that had won back-to-back FA Cups.
The club also let plenty of players go, including six youth prospects who headed for pastures new. Here’s where they ended up.
Jack Jebb
Dubbed the ‘new Jack Wilshere’ by some rather overexcitable observers, Jebb never played for the Arsenal first team and joined Stevenage after being released by the Gunners in 2015.
The midfielder had already enjoyed two loan spells with Stevenage, but only lasted a year at the club before joining Newport County on a free.
A career dotting around southern England has followed, gradually sliding into non-league, and Jebb now plays for Folkstone Invicta in the Isthmian League Premier Division.
Semi Ajayi
Ajayi signed with more than one eye on the future after arriving from Charlton Athletic following an impressive trial in September 2013.
But there were simply too many centre-backs ahead of him. Ajayi made the bench during four Premier League matches in 2014-15 and a League Cup defeat to Southampton but it was clear that he’d get more playing opportunities elsewhere.
A loan spell at Cardiff City provided that and the Nigeria international made the permanent switch to Wales in the summer of 2015.
He’s been with West Brom since 2019 and has notched up well over 170 appearances for the Baggies.
Austin Lipman
A former England under-17 international, Lipman’s career since leaving Arsenal has been so obscure that he doesn’t have a Wikipedia page.
Some thorough journalistic digging can reveal that the winger now plays for Maccabi London Lions in the Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division.
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Brandon Ormonde-Ottewill
Not content with playing out his career in provincial English towns, Ormonde-Ottewill spent two years post-Arsenal at Swindon Town before leaving for the Netherlands.
The full-back played for three Dutch clubs between 2017 and 2022, the most renowned being Excelsior, before moving to Hungary and signing for his current club Puskas Akademia.
Josh Vickers
A goalkeeper who was still a teenager when Arsenal released him in 2015, Vickers remained in the Premier League with Swansea City for a further two seasons.
His release by the Welsh club finally allowed the youngster the chance of regular first team football, making 70 appearances in three years for Lincoln City.
Now with Derby County, Vickers was supported by everybody at his current club when his wife tragically died of cancer in 2023.
Jonatas Centeno
Playing for Portugal’s under-17 side seems to have been the peak of Centeno’s career.
The winger spent two years at Sheffield Wednesday after leaving Arsenal, failing to make a first-team appearance and retiring from the game at the age of 19.
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