Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has integrated a lot of youth in his time at the Emirates Stadium – but not everyone has been given a chance
(Image credit: David Price/Getty Images)
Arsenal could be set to lose an academy product to Newcastle United, in a bitter blow for the club's Hale End production line.
Manager Mikel Arteta has been big on integrating youth during his time as Gunners boss, initially building his side around the likes of Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Emile Smith Rowe. But in recent times, academy debutants have dwindled as Arsenal have got better, with only 15-year-old Ethan Nwaneri making his bow last season before Charles Sagoe Jr was handed a first start in the League Cup this term.
Much-hyped young striker Folarin Balogun had to leave for first-team opportunities over the summer, while Arteta has been reluctant to give minutes to teenagers this term, choosing to bring on Declan Rice at centre-back in a dead-rubber against PSV in the Champions League when he had Nwaneri and top prospect, Myles-Lewis Skelley available on the bench.
Arsenal have a big focus on youth – but some teenagers have found it hard to get minutes under Arteta (Image credit: Getty Images)
Now, the Standard have reported that 18-year-old wonderkid Amario Cozier-Duberry is a target for Newcastle, with Arteta yet to hand him an opportunity in the senior side.
A right-winger in the mould of Bukayo Saka, the teenager is stalling on a new contract, with his current deal expiring in the summer. Borussia Dortmund are also said to be interested, too.
With Arteta lacking a real backup for his talismanic Saka, Cozier-Duberry has been touted as the perfect option to ease into the side but thus far, the Basque boss has failed to give a debut to him, Reuell Walters or Lino Sousa, thought to be the next Hale End products ready for senior football.
Amario Cozier-Duberry is yet another highly-rated Arsenal academy product (Image credit: David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
Mark White has been at on FourFourTwo since joining in January 2020, first as a staff writer before becoming content editor in 2023. An encyclopedia of football shirts and boots knowledge – both past and present – Mark has also represented FFT at both FA Cup and League Cup finals (though didn't receive a winners' medal on either occasion) and has written pieces for the mag ranging on subjects from Bobby Robson's season at Barcelona to Robinho's career. He has written cover features for the mag on Mikel Arteta and Martin Odegaard, and is assisted by his cat, Rosie, who has interned for the brand since lockdown.
