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Arsenal's long-awaited success appears to have come at a price - and it's some of their own bearing the brunt. But is it as simple as that? The club's Hale End academy has a rich history of producing first-team ready first-team players, many of whom have played a key role in their Premier League title pursuit and run to the Champions League Final.
Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri signed long-term contracts last summer but have had tricky seasons from an individual perspective, one on the fringes of Mikel Arteta's squad and the other out on loan. So, what does the future hold for these two gems of the Arsenal academy pipeline?
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Arsenal's Hayland Academy has a strong record of producing first-team ready, first-team players
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And no matter your generation, you'll be aware of at least one graduate, whether it's Tony Adams, Rocky Roecastle, Ashley Cole, Jack Wilshere, Alex Iwobi or Bukayo Saka
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The list stretches far and wide. But in 2026, Arsenal are a different beast
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The standard required to get into this starting XI is higher than it has ever been in the past 20 years
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and the demands of fighting on all four fronts have led to extensive business being done in the transfer market
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So today, with one youngster on loan in France and another struggling for minutes
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we're looking at whether or not the club's newfound success has come at the expense of its best young players
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The obvious answer to this is no, because Arsenal have integrated the likes of Max Downman and Marley Salmon this season
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Despite their Premier League title challenge and competing on multiple fronts, Opportunities for youngsters have been there
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just perhaps not at the same volume for players who were flavour of the month in seasons past
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It's a much more nuanced debate than a simple yes or no answer too. Each player is judged by the Arsenal staff on a case-by-case basis
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There certainly hasn't been a blanket decision by the club's hierarchy to turn their back on young players in lieu of greater experience and a win-now mentality
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That would be daft. And as we saw against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League semi-final second leg
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couldn't be further from the truth. What happened over the summer though has definitely played a part. Arsenal have depth now and lots of it
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Martin Zubervendi joined from Real Sociedad padding out the midfield, while Piero Hincapié signed from Bayer Leverkusen, strengthening the defence
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Arsenal effectively have two 11s that are capable of playing Champions League football
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The problem is one of these so wonder kids has only been making it into the second 11 for much of the season and the other is on the bench in Ligue 1 When you competing with Manchester City PSG Bayern Munich and Atletico for titles there very little room to blood youngsters at least regularly anyway
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Arteta has prioritised established internationals, leaving the younger prospects in a difficult position, not yet experienced enough to displace world-class starters in the title race
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Let's look at Myles Lewis-Skelly then, because if you hadn't guessed already, he's one of the players we're talking about
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He's 19 now and despite his versatility in midfield and at left-back, has played less this season than he did in his breakout year
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According to Transfermarkt, Lewis-Skelly is under contract until June 2030, having signed an extension last summer
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This is important because it's a long-term commitment from Arsenal and a long-term commitment from Lewis-Skelly
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Usually a contract of this length for a teenage S suggests the club either has a clear long-term plan to integrate them steadily
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or they're protecting his market value. If Lewis Skelly doesn't ultimately break through in the way he briefly did during 2024-25
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that long contract ensures Arsenal can still demand a high transfer fee, most likely in the £30m plus range
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And before you all get agitated, that's a conservative estimate. Do not come for me
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The fact that he hasn't been sent on loan suggests Arteta wants him close to the first team to learn the system
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but without the minutes, his development risks stalling. At international level, Lewis Skelly made his England debut
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on the back of a breakout campaign last year but most recently, back in March 2026
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he was down with the under-21s. That means he most likely won't be going to the World Cup
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And of the five starts he's made for the three lines, two have been against Latvia, one versus Andorra
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and there was another against Albania. He hasn yet faced the cream of the international crop and is unlikely to be tested against top opponents anytime soon if he not currently in Thomas Tuchel plans And that could be a problem But is that better or worse than playing in another country altogether Because that
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where Arsenal fans will find their other recent academy graduate. Before we get to that though, a quick one from me to tell you about our latest offer here at
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It comes with a World Cup wall chart and supplement as well, so the link's in the description if you
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want to get on it. But for now, let's get back to the video. Then we have Ethan Monnery. He made headlines as the Premier League's youngest ever player
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and Arsenal worked hard to sign him to a professional deal amid interest from Manchester
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City. This season he's been sent on loan to Marseille in Ligue 1, as it became apparent there
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wouldn't be an abundance of opportunities at the Emirates Stadium. Marseille aren't a bad team to
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represent, especially on a footballing year abroad as part of Nicola Teta's Erasmus scheme
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sort of way. They're perennial high finishes in France's top flight, played Champions League
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football this year and have one of the largest fan bases in the country. So you could say it's
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a good dress rehearsal for becoming a key player with the Gunners. Warneri is another who signed a
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long-term contract extension last summer and has only recently turned 19 himself. The move to Marseille
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was intended to give him the high-pressure experience he couldn't get at the Emirates and statistically the loan has been a success. In 24 appearances he's recorded five goals and four
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assists at the time of recording. He's playing regularly in a top five European league, which
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is exactly what he needed But of course it not been plain sailing entirely Marseille head coach Habib Bey recently commented on Nwenaire attitude asking the young Arsene for greater commitment In his defence Nwenaire probably
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wouldn't have reached the level he has on talent alone, so there's probably more to that story than
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meets the eye. And because I'm not fluent in French, I won't be asking Habib Bey what he means by
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greater commitment. The question remains though, where does he fit when he returns? Nwenaire is a
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natural attacking midfielder, but as long as Ebreze and Martin Odegaard are fit and in form
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that role is occupied. Arsenal's difficulty in the past was tying him to a long-term deal
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whereas now the difficulty is finding a spot for him in a winning team. There's no issue with
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regards to his talent, but there could soon be convincing Nuneri of his place in the Arsenal
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set-up moving forward. Because players of his natural ability do not come around all that often
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even if Heiland has a habit of producing them. So have Arsenal given up on them? It's more likely
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that Arsenal are following the likes of Manchester City or Real Madrid's sort of model. In these elite
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teams you don't just get a chance because you're from the academy you have to prove you're elite
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first whether that be elsewhere on loan or in-house. Luis Gelli and Nguyeneri have stepped out and put
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their heads above the parapet they've done that much and they should be credited for it but much
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like winning teams it's not the first victory that's the toughest it's staying there and then
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maintaining that dominance. The Nguyeneri loan shows Arsenal are trying to bridge that gap by
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testing him at a high level and the long-term contracts for both show they still value them
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as assets. So definitively speaking, Arsenal haven't given up. But the era of academy players
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walking into the first team because the squad is thin is over. These wonderkids now have to be as
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good as the world-class players ahead of them. This is football, after all, a ruthless business
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So if they don't make the near impossibly high grade, there's always the chance they'll be sold
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The reward, though, becoming an Arsenal regular over several years, will be immense. Just ask any Arsenal fan how they feel about Pakai Osaka
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