The Arsenal youth academy has produced plenty of quality players over the years, but they’ve also been guilty of letting some big-name players leave the club.
For every Bukayo Saka or Myles Lewis-Skelly, there are countless other examples of players who slip through the cracks at academy level.
Here are seven quality players that Arsenal either released or sold too early when they were in their academy system.
Eberechi Eze
After being released from the Arsenal academy at the age of 13, Eze is now set to re-join the club in a deal worth £67.5million.
As a youngster, Eze had multiple setbacks, spending spells with Fulham, Reading and Millwall at youth level.
However, it wasn’t until he joined QPR in 2016 that his potential was realised. It didn’t take him long until he became a fan favourite at Loftus Road and the rest is history.
“(That) was probably the hardest,” Eze said when describing the feeling of being released by Arsenal as a youngster.
“Hearing them say no to me at 13, that was tough. I remember training after I got released.
“I couldn’t focus, I was just crying.”
Fast forward 14 years and he’s set to become one of their most expensive signings of all time.
Harry Kane
Kane was famously released from the Arsenal academy as a youngster, with coaches at the time unconvinced by his athleticism.
“To release Harry Kane…we don’t have a crystal ball,” former Arsenal academy manager Roy Massey told talkSPORT.
“If we did then we would be successful in every youngster than we take on.
“Harry was a lovely young player. He was quiet, shy, didn’t have what we thought it would take to become a professional footballer and so we were totally mistaken.
“Although I’ve got to say that when Harry was released when he was 11 or 12 years of age, he did go to play for his Sunday league club for the next three years so no other club’s picked him up in that age group.
“It was only when he was 15 he went to Tottenham and obviously he’s had great success.”
While things didn’t work out for Kane at Arsenal, it’s safe to say that he’s done alright for himself since. Just the 455 goals he’s scored for club and country since 2010.
Nathan Tella
Tella spent his formative years in the Arsenal academy, but was released by the club at the age of 17.
“The day that happened, when I got released, my whole world just came crashing down,” Tella told The Mirror.
“That was probably the first time in my life I’d ever been rejected from something in a sense.
“I’d worked so hard to get to the level I am and technically it’s the last step before you think of yourself as a professional footballer for Arsenal. I might say I was this close to doing it, or this close to doing it.
“I was one step away from ultimately fulfilling my dream for the club I support. It was really hard for me at the time.”
After being let go by the Gunners, Tella joined Southampton, where he spent the next six years of his career.
He impressed while out on loan at Burnley in 2022-23 and subsequently earned himself a £20million move to Bayer Leverkusen, where he still plays today.
Michael Olise
As a youngster, Olise spent time in the Arsenal, Chelsea and Man City youth academies, but it wasn’t until he joined Reading in 2017 that his potential was realised.
“The Reading academy staff deserve so much credit,” former Arsenal U21 manager Mehmet Ali told Football London.
“Reading took him in as an under 14 and did great work with him.
“Everyone at Reading deserves a lot of credit for helping Michael on his journey so it’s not a surprise to see him do well.”
Now considered as one of the best playmakers in the world, Arsenal probably wish that they kept him around as a youngster.
Donyell Malen
While Malen wasn’t technically released by Arsenal, he was sold to PSV for a minimal fee in 2017.
“I heard him say that I came in too fat,” Malen recalled when discussing his time at Arsenal.
“They had been working at Arsenal for two months when I came. Then, of course, you are not immediately at the same level. I was not fit yet, but too fat? No.”
Since leaving the Arsenal academy, Malen has been sold for a combined fee of £45million when joining Borussia Dortmund and Aston Villa.
Dwight Gayle
Gayle was released from the Arsenal academy at the age of 12, with his height being cited as one of the reasons for letting him go.
While the striker never quite made it at the very elite level, Arsenal could’ve sold him for a serious profit if they had allowed him to develop in their academy.
After being let go, Gayle worked his way up the footballing ladder by playing semi-professional football before joining League Two outfit Dagenham & Redbridge in 2011.
Since then, he’s been an elite marksman at Championship level and has racked up 145 appearances in the Premier League.
Will Lankshear
Lankshear is still in the formative years of his career, but could Arsenal live to regret letting him leave as a youngster?
After leaving Arsenal, Lankshear was picked up by Sheffield United before then joining the Tottenham academy in 2022.
The 20-year-old forward boasts a superb scoring record at youth level and is currently out on loan with Championship side Oxford United.
He’s certainly someone worth keeping your eye on over the coming years.
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