Chido Obi-Martin did not leave Arsenal over lack of money – rather it was game time, according to reports.
The Daily Mail report that ‘the feeling he had a better shot at cracking the first team’.
Now Arsenal have seen two of their promising young talents, Chido Obi and Ayden Heaven, make the switch to Man United in just a matter of months.
Obi has already made his senior debut for Manchester United, featuring in a game against Tottenham, while Heaven has been included on the bench for United’s last two matches under Ruben Amorim.
What Fabrizio Romano has said on the two departures for Arsenal
Despite initial disappointment, Arsenal aren’t dwelling on the departures, it is thought, According to Fabrizio Romano, the club made serious efforts to keep both players, offering them competitive contracts, but ultimately respected their decisions to move on.
Writing for GiveMeSport, Romano explained: “Arsenal were disappointed when Chido Obi left in the summer and Ayden Heaven followed in January, as they tried to keep both and offered important contracts. But no one is losing sleep over it.
“The club did everything they could, and at the end of the day, Arsenal are still producing top talent. Mikel Arteta trusts the academy for the long term, as seen with Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly.”
While Arsenal wanted to keep both players, they were far less concerned about losing Heaven compared to Obi.
According to The Telegraph, the club saw Heaven as far down the pecking order, with established defenders like William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Ben White, Riccardo Calafiori, and Jurrien Timber ahead of him. Given the depth in that position, Arsenal felt it didn’t make sense to go all out to retain him.
Arteta never showed any soccer will to draft Chido Obi into the main team. Maybe if he has been a left footer, it would have been easy. Arteta’s nostalgia for right footers is growing on daily bases. No right footed academy player has been promoted into Arsenal first team since his arrival! This is very dangerous for the club.
What a totally stupid and drunken comment
Total rubbish.
Arsenal offered him £15k per week, which is their maximum for an academy player.
Man United offered him double that, £30k per week, and he accepted. Known fact.
It’s a fact that his head was easily turned, when the teenager was offered £30,000 per week. More money than he has ever seen before and I am sure his parents would have got a bumper deal out of it as well.
Money talks, prospects walks!
Why isn’t anyone moving on from this piece of little drama. If it wasnt money when he doubled his paying moving and instead game time, then that is a lie because he has only made his debut as so many senior players have fallen out favour with Amorim coupled with injuries. Be it as it may, back at Arsenal, fellow Academy have fully cracked open the first team code and are excelling. Nwaneri and MLS and possibly a couple more will feature before this season’s curtain is drawn. They’ll more than likely play in UCL in the 2025/26 season as well. The COM story should be left to RIP. He’s a Manchester United player now. End of story
Skip the kid. He will learn in United what he has done. Just a little more patience (but patience is something teenagers don’t have) and he would have been the-two-goal-sensation at the King Power. Hard luck.
On the other hand, 18 yo Marcus Rashford scored 2 times against Arsenal… It takes more than luck.