It's not been the season Arsenal fans would've been hoping for this year.
Mikel Arteta's side has failed to make the most of Manchester City's failure, and through a combination of poor form and injuries, look set to miss out on the Premier League title for a third campaign on the bounce.
However, there have at least been a few positives, with the most significant undoubtedly being the emergence and development of Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly.
Arsenal-Nwaneri-Lewis-Skelly
The two youngsters have been exceptional this season and look destined for an incredibly bright future with the club, but the best might still be to come from Hale End, as next season could see the debut of a young talent deemed to be in the same league as Lamine Yamal.
Hale End's future stars
Arsenal's incredible talent factory seems to be showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon, and before we get to the player in question, it's worth examining the other prospects who could make their competitive first-team debuts next season.
Near the very top of that list would be Dan Casey, who might still be just 17 years old but has been nothing short of incredible in the academy this season.
For example, in just 24 appearances this season, totalling 1589 minutes, the "box-crashing" midfielder, as dubbed by respected analyst Ben Mattinson, has scored 17 goals and provided two assists, which comes out to an average of a goal involvement every 1.26 appearances, or every 83.63 minutes.
Casey's 24/25
Appearances
Minutes
Goals
Assists
Goal Involvements per Match
Minutes per Goal Involvement
All Stats via Transfermarkt
Another 17-year-old talent who should get a debut next season is Andre Harriman-Annous.
The incredibly promising centre-forward, whom Arsenal fan Connor Humm claims is the "real deal," has been tearing things up this season, and in just 27 appearances, totalling 2001 minutes, has scored 13 goals and provided two assists.
Moreover, he has now been moved up to the U21 side and, like Casey, has already trained with the first team on multiple occasions now, so there is a real chance we get to see him play some minutes with them at some point next season.
However, while both youngsters are tremendously exciting prospects and could have great careers at the club, there is one academy gem for whom some are predicting extraordinary things: a teenager who is being spoken about in the same breath as Yamal.
lamine-yamal-barcelona
Arsenal's Yamal-esque talent
With the likes of Saka, Nwaneri and Lewis-Skelly now in the first team and the aforementioned academy gems potentially on the brink of their debuts, it seems wild to think that Hale End are in the process of brewing another future world-beater, but that seems to be the case.
In the pipeline
In The Pipeline
Football FanCast's In the Pipeline series aims to uncover the very best youth players in world football.
Max Dowman might only be 15 years old, but how he is spoken about by those in the know feels almost unprecedented when it comes to the Gunners.
For example, at the start of this season, respected talent scout Jacek Kulig went as far as proclaiming the teenager the "most exciting prospect" he had seen "since Lamine Yamal", and considering the Spaniard's meteoric rise, that is an astounding thing to say.
However, he's not alone in predicting big things for the Englishman, as Declan Rice, who has been mentoring him this year, described him as "the best 15-year-old in the country," and academy expert Will Balsam claimed he has "one of the greatest footballing brains that's ever come through Hale End."
It might sound rather hyperbolic, but when you look at his numbers this season, you realise it really isn't.
Despite being just 14 at the start of the campaign, the Gunners' "crown jewel," as dubbed by Kulig, has scored five goals and provided two assists in 16 appearances, and perhaps even more impressive than that, he's already played with the U21s.
Ultimately, while being compared with a world-beater like Lamal is undoubtedly a lot, it might prove apt a few years from now, as Dowman looks destined for the very top.
Arsenal-Harry-Kane Related
[Their answer to Kane: Arsenal make £67m "monster" their number one target](https://www.footballfancast.com/their-answer-to-kane-arsenal-make-seasko-their-primary-target/ "Their answer to Kane: Arsenal make £67m "monster" their number one target")
The incredible forward would be a game-changer for Arsenal next season.