Tony Cascarino has warned Arsenal that they cannot keep losing emerging talents like Eddie Nketiah if they want to be among the best clubs.
The striker will be a free agent at the end of this season and he has had talks with the club over a contract extension.
However, he seems to have chosen to leave the Emirates instead, and that means Arsenal is losing one of their finest academy graduates.
After being frozen out of the first team for so long, he has led their attack in the last few matches and has done well.
It is almost as if he is playing to earn a contract at another club, but former Chelsea and Celtic man, Cascarino, believes Arsenal should keep a player like him.
“Should he be Arsenal’s starting centre forward? Probably not. But he is only 22 and is clearly getting better” he writes in The Times.
“If Arsenal want to join the clubs above them in the league, they need to give themselves options like those clubs do. What Arsenal don’t want to do is allow him to leave and then watch him make those improvements at another club.”
Just Arsenal Opinion
Nketiah has never truly had a chance to make a career for himself at Arsenal.
The club has mostly relied on the more experienced players they always sign from other clubs.
However, he has proven he can contribute. It remains unclear if he can have a change of heart and stay at the Emirates next season.