If there was one thing Arsenal became renowned for during Arsene Wenger’s time at the club it was blooding youngsters.
The Gunners made it a point of principle to give young players their chance in the first team and the development that wasn’t available elsewhere.
It was a strategy that worked in their favour for many years, with numerous youngsters electing to move to the club knowing that they would get their chance.
They moved away from the approach a little over the last decade but are working to bring it back under Mikel Arteta, who has already shown a willingness to give youngsters, such as Eddie Nketiah, Bukayo Saka and Ainsley Maitland-Niles, a chance.
The next youngster in line to make the step up is 17-year-old Charlie Patino, an Arsenal Academy graduate and England youth international who recently signed his first professional contract at the club.
If he’s to break into the Arsenal first team, he’ll have to impress Arteta, something he appears to have done according to his father.
“We are happy to sign that first contract, Charlie has worked hard,” he told La Opinión a Coruña.
“Arteta and all the technicians love him, but not only for what he does on the pitch.
“He doesn’t give problems, he listens, he asks them, he is interested in what they tell him.”
That certainly sounds positive for Patino, who appears to have made an impression on those higher up at the Emirates already.
Breaking into the Arsenal first-team may prove a little difficult at present, though, with their midfield packed full of talent at this moment in time.
Indeed, it’s so full that there’s no place for Mesut Ozil – other issues aside – meaning Patino may need to wait for his chance.
If he continues to impress, though, it seems it won’t be too long before his is a name Arteta is considering.
