Arsenal are very well known for developing talented young players year in, year out. Arsene Wenger’s desire to nurture and present opportunities to promising players is frequently documented and yet again, there are some quality individuals in the Hale End setup under the guidance of Andries Jonkers. We have seen the likes of Alex Iwobi, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Jeff Reine-Adelaide and Chris Willock involved in the first team in recent times but who will be pushing through the Gunners’ ranks in the next year or so?
Check out 5 Arsenal youngsters below who are very likely to be destined for the big time…

Eddie Nketiah

Former Chelsea talent who has come on in leaps and bounds in the first half of this season. Nketiah scored a remarkable 24 goals in 28 outings for the Gunners U18s last campaign and has stepped up to take a prominent role for the U21s. Has already scored goals in the UEFA Youth League after signing a pro deal with the Gunners back in September. Playing mainly as an off-the-shoulder striker, Nketiah is a self-confessed Gunners fan who idolises club legend Henry and Barcelona ace Luis Suarez. He previously told the club’s official website: “I do practise my finishing a lot and that helps me to be even more instinctive and able to make better choices in a split second. I believe I’m an instinctive finisher and the key is being able to be calm and composed in front of goal, which ensures I never rush my shots. I like to learn from other strikers. When growing up it was always Thierry Henry when he was with Arsenal. In recent years I’ve watched Luis Suarez a lot. I think he is a very efficient striker who I learn a lot from.” Earlier this month, Nketiah notched 40 goals in youth football from just 48 matches since 2014/15, which shows just how frequently he finds the back of the net – a very strong trait from a promising player. This season alone, he has scored 16 times in just 19 appearances in all competitions. A sign of great things to come.

Kelechi Nwakali

Nwakali is a Nigerian youth international who joined from the Diamond Football Academy on a five-year deal in the summer. The 18-year-old attacking midfielder captained the Nigerian side to glory at the 2015 FIFA U17 World Cup in Chile, winning the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player. Immediately after joining the Gunners, Nwakali was sent to Dutch club MVV Maastricht for a season-long loan in a bid to gain first-team experience, indicating just how highly the North Londoners rate him.
Since being in the Eerste Divisie (Dutch second tier), Nwakali has scored one goal and provided an assist in 12 matches. His first senior goal came only a couple of weeks ago in fine fashion when he showed control, poise and skill to bamboozle a defender before slotting beneath the legs of the opposing goalkeeper.

Stephy Mavididi

Powerful English striker who topped the U21 scoring charts last term with 17 goals. Mavididi has been back amongst the goals this season with seven in all competitions, including a lovely brace in a recent 3-2 loss to Liverpool. Played for England at the U17 World Cup that Nigeria and Nwakali won but was unable to help the Young Lions move beyond the group stage. Mavididi is competing with the likes of Nketiah, Chris Willock and Donyell Malen in the Gunners’ youth attacking stocks and has already shown that he is a key figure with his ability to lead the line. You can see from the highlights package below that Arsenal fans certainly have plenty to look forward in regard to the enormously talented youngster.

Thanks to YouTube user miroP10 for this Stephy Mavididi highlight package:

This guy is one of the most exciting talents in the Arsenal youth setup. The 17-year-old Dutch forward joined the Gunners from Ajax in 2015 and has never looked back. Closely compared to club legend Dennis Bergkamp for his capability of creating a sublime pass out of nothing, Malen is being eyed as a star of the future. Malen’s agent Mino Raiola told the Daily Mail in September that he feels, “Arsenal have a potential world-class player on their hands. One who I am excited about is already with a Premier League club and that is Donyell Malen at Arsenal,” he said. “He is a very talented young Dutch player with lots of ability, he is at a very good club with a great manager and I think he can be a revelation.”

The teenager has been working with the senior squad at times in a bid to gain a strong education from the likes of Olivier Giroud and Lucas Perez . His creativity, vision, pace and confidence saw him scoring 14 goals last season and he has added a further four so far this term.

Malen’s highlights package are a pleasure to watch as you can see by the below video thanks to YouTube user miroP10:

There are massively high hopes for the Romanian midfielder in North London. Dragomir, who arrived at Arsenal from ACS Poli Timisoara in the summer of 2015, signed a pro deal in April. He is already being labelled as Mesut Ozil’s heir apparent while pundits in Romania see him as a similar operator to Real Madrid’s German star Toni Kroos. At just 17, Dragomir has already made a massive impact for the U21s and U19s and is expected to continue stepping up his output as the season progresses. His best attributes are his brilliant technical ability, penchant to dribble past defenders and his creativity in the final third. Dragomir also possesses a lethal left foot, get to know what Vlad Dragomir has in his locker in the highlight video package below:

Guest post contributed by our friends at Tribal Football by Andrew Slevison.