MISSING GEMS
Folarin Balogun next? Serge Gnabry, Ismael Bennacer and the wonderkids who Arsenal lost for cheap and are now worth millions
Arsenal were once widely recognised for nurturing young talent and turning them into first-team stars.
Aaron Ramsey, Jack Wilshere, Cesc Fabregas and Kieran Gibbs are just some of the starlets who became regulars under former boss Arsene Wenger.
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This stance has altered somewhat in recent years though, with the Gunners getting out the cheque book to seal deals for proven talents such as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette and Bernd Leno.
Matteo Guendouzi came in and showed glimpses of his potential in the first team before being shipped out on loan following a bust-up with Mikel Arteta.
Bukayo Saka, meanwhile, has been a shining light for the Gunners amid a difficult first half of the 2020/21 campaign and deservedly received senior international recognition with England when he featured against Wales last October.
As the north London side build towards a brighter future under Arteta's stewardship, they will be looking to blood some more youngsters into the senior set-up.
It doesn't appear as though highly-rated academy striker Folarin Balogun will be part of that process.
claim the 19-year-old forward is close to signing a pre-contract agreement with a foreign club.
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The Gunners want Balogun to stay at the Emirates, but limited progress regarding talks over a new deal at the club and a lack of playing time has seen the youngster consider his long-term options.
Balogun, who made his senior bow against Dundalk in the Europa League in October 2020, is out of contract at the end of the season.
Speaking ahead of Saturday's all-Premier League FA Cup third round tie against Newcastle, Arteta insisted the player wants to remain at the club and suggested outside influences are hampering their chances of retaining the youngster.
"The club wants to make a deal, the manager wants to make a deal, the player wants to stay and I'm not sure about the agent," the Spaniard said.
"We are negotiating with an agent, with a player that wants to stay at the club and we need to find an agreement.
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"I'm telling you that we are doing everything we can to keep him here.
"Hopefully from the other part they are doing the same and in the same interest, which is the player's interest which is to stay at the football club and be successful with us."
Balogun has not been short of interested suitors, with Championship promotion chasers Brentford seeing a £5million bid turned down this time last year.
It seems inexcusable that the Gunners should let go of yet another young star, especially as they've lost four exciting starlets over the course of the previous four campaigns.
So, what happened to the likes of Serge Gnabry, Ismael Bennacer, Donyell Malen, and Jeff Reine-Adelaide after leaving Arsenal? marvelbet369.com takes a look below...
Ismael Bennacer (AC Milan)
Big things were expected from Bennacer when he joined the Gunners from Ligue 2 side AC Arles-Avignon in 2015.
However, the midfielder was unable to make the breakthrough at the Emirates - making just one first-team appearance - and subsequently joined Empoli on a permanent deal two years later.
The Gunners inserted a buy-back clause inserted into the sale, meaning they had the right to match any accepted bid for the young midfielder to re-sign him.
However, they passed up on that opportunity with Serie A giants AC Milan clinching a £14.5m deal for the Algeria international last summer.
The 23-year-old signed a five-year deal at the San Siro, with Arsenal reportedly recouping 30 per cent of that fee through a sell-on clause.
Such is the talent he possesses, Paris Saint-Germain have been linked with making a move for Bennacer.
Milan, however, are not expected to entertain any interest in their midfielder who has played a key role in Milan's rise to the summit of the Italian top flight this season.
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Serge Gnabry (Bayern Munich)
Once deemed not good enough for West Bromwich Albion by Tony Pulis, his career has taken off like a rocket.
After a prolonged period of obscurity in professional football, albeit hampered by injury, the 2018/19 season was one to remember for Gnabry as he was named Bayern Munich's player of the season in a title-winning campaign.
The 25-year-old enjoyed another productive campaign in 2019/20, scoring 19 goals and registering 13 assists in 41 appearances for Bayern as the German giants clinched an eighth successive Bundesliga title.
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It all looked so promising for Gnabry early on in his Emirates career, as he was handed his Premier League debut as a teenager by none other than Arsene Wenger.
However, after suffering a cruciate knee ligament injury the winger was unable to force his way back into Wenger's plans upon his return.
A miserable loan at the Hawthorns followed, where then Baggies boss Tony Pulis claimed he ‘was not at the required standard’ to compete.
"Serge has come here to play games but he just hasn’t been for me, at the moment, at that level to play the games," he famously said.
"He’s come from academy football and not played much league football. Does academy football really prepare players for league football? And we’re talking about Premier League football here.
"As a manager you pick a team that’s going to win a game of football. You pick your best team, you don’t leave people out because you don’t like them, because of this, that and the other."
After rebuilding his career at Werder Bremen and Hoffenheim, Gnabry has grabbed his big break with both hands at Bayern - and has certainly proved many people wrong in the process.
He has also a phenomenal record at international level, with 14 goals in 17 games for Germany so far.
Jeff Reine-Adelaide (Lyon - on loan at Nice)
Having progressed through the Lens academy, Jeff Reine-Adelaide moved to Arsenal in 2015.
The following season he made six appearances, all in cup competitions, before being loaned to Ligue 1 side Angers.
That productive spell with the French side saw him return for pre-season back in north London following the completion of the 2017/18 season under Unai Emery - but he was soon shipped out of the club.
In an interview with , the France Under-21 international revealed that he was told he was surplus to requirements before even getting the chance to prove his worth at the Emirates.
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“It is true that I would like to speak a little less of Arsenal. I was young. It was complicated,” he said.
“There was so much competition that it was difficult to get into the coach’s line-up. He [Emery] told me that the club did not rely too much on me.
"I took a blow, but Angers were on the lookout. It was a new chance, a new beginning. The train does not pass often and I was happy to get back in the right car.”
Still only 22, Reine-Adelaide is another former Gunner who looks destined for a bright future in the game.
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The midfielder joined Lyon in August 2019 for a deal believed to be worth in the region of £23m.
He showed some early promise in his maiden campaign with his new club, before cruciate ligament damage curtailed his season coupled with the postponement of Ligue 1 last April amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Having found playing opportunities limited at the start of 2020/21, the youngster joined Nice in a season-long loan deal.
It's understood that they have the option to make the deal permanent for a fee believed to be £22.5m.
Donyell Malen (PSV Eindhoven)
Another youngster who was tipped for big things at the Emirates was Dutch forward Donyell Malen.
The 21-year-old opted to leave Arsenal for PSV Eindhoven four years ago - despite being offered a contract extension in north London.
Malen will certainly feel he was vindicated in his decision to return to his homeland, enjoying a prolific run of goalscoring form in the Eredivisie in 2019/20 - notching 17 goals in 25 games - before suffering a season-ending knee injury last January.
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The only consolation for Malen - who also scored on his international debut against Germany in September 2020 - was that the coronavirus pandemic put an end to the European Championship - a tournament he was set to miss.
Following a nine-month lay-off he returned to the first-team fold at PSV earlier this term - continuing where he left off last season with 15 goals in 22 appearances for Roger Schmidt's men thus far.
Will Balogun be next to depart the talent factory at the Emirates? Arteta will certainly be hoping that is not the case...
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