Mikel Arteta spoke out on Chido Obi-Martin’s move to Manchester United amid claims he left for the money.
Obi-Martin left Mikel Arteta and Arsenal to join United in the summer. Obi-Martin was one of the hottest young talents in the Arsenal academy, notably playing his first game for the U21s when he was just 15 and renowned as a prolific goalscorer throughout his time there.
But the club chiefs were unable to persuade Obi to sign professional terms with the club and Arteta admits his exit was “very unfortunate”.
“There are a lot of players that have a pathway and that’s our intention,” Arteta said in his pre-match press conference ahead of Arsenal’s trip to Old Trafford on Sunday.
“When a player decides the best pathway for him is to leave, there’s not much you can do. It’s unfortunate because we want to keep all of our players from the academy and make them successful, especially when there is a pathway to the first team. I wasn’t too involved in that decision.”
Arteta’s comments come after it was suggested that Obi-Martin left Arsenal to join Man Utd because of the money on offer at Old Trafford, although Arteta was keen to point out that young players do get a chance at the Emirates.
The departures of Obi-Martin and fellow academy product Ayden Heaven to Man Utd sparked suggestions that Arsenal’s youngsters were concerned about a lack of first-team opportunities at the Emirates, but the likes of Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly have been afforded plenty of chances this season.
“I don’t know whether the perception is out [there],” Arteta added. “Internally it’s not the case. I can guarantee if there is a player that can help and impact the first team, they are going to be with us.”
Arteta also spoke about Arsenal’s preparations to face Man Utd after their 7-1 thrashing of PSV Eindhoven in midweek, admitting that one player in particular surprised him with his attacking quality against the Dutch side.
Popular News
