Arsenal bolstered their squad last summer as much from Hale End as they did the transfer market.
Mikel Merino and Riccardo Calafiori signed for circa £70million, but promoting Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly into the first team has proved just as impactful. Both teenagers have certainly made much more of an impression than Raheem Sterling has during his loan from Chelsea.
The winger is one of five players set to leave the Gunners at the end of this season. Fellow loanee Neto will return to Bournemouth, while Kieran Tierney has a pre-contract agreement with Celtic.
Ismael Kabia appears best placed to step up in the absence of Sterling after becoming a regular on the first-team substitutes bench this year. The teenage winger debuted during the League Cup third-round tie against Bolton Wanderers at the Emirates Stadium, and further appearances could come before the end of this season.
Kabia impressed during the Uefa Youth League league phase, assisting all but one of Arsenal 's five goals. He also scored the winning goal against League One club Leyton Orient in the Gunners' one EFL Trophy victory during the group stages.
Another player on target in that competition was Nathan Butler-Oyedeji, captaining the team in that win and scoring the equaliser in their next match against Milton Keynes Dons of League Two. That is one of ten goals - alongside six assists - for the under-21s this season, with the most recent two coming in a 2-1 triumph over Everton in Premier League 2.
Butler-Oyedeji debuted during the penultimate Champions League league phase game against Dinamo Zagreb and, like Kabia, could be in line for more minutes. In the absence of Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz through injury, there could be an opportunity for the 22-year-old to become the striker who belatedly replaces Eddie Nketiah in the Arsenal squad next season
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Arsenal Manager Mikel Arteta, Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Jesus with the Arsenal Therapy Dog Win during the Arsenal Men's team group shoot at London Colney on September 18, 2023
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