Charlie Patino has been hailed as the best wonderkid to have stepped foot inside the Arsenal academy.
The 17 year-old has been named as better than any other player to join the academy, ahead of the likes of Emile Smith Rowe, Bukayo Saka, Eddie Nketiah, Folarin Balogun, Jack Wilshere and Miguel Azeez to name but a few.
Unfortunately, he isn’t believed to be ready yet, but the club is claimed to have a ‘pathway’ prepared to bring him into the first-team in the near future, but he is deemed to have the most potential of all their former youth players.
“Sean O’Connor discovered Jack Wilshere and he said to me that Charlie is the best player who has ever walked through the doors at Hale End. The kid has got so much potential, but he’s not there yet,” Stapleton told Goal.
“There is a pathway that Arsenal have got for him and he’s probably going down the same pathway as Phil Foden at Manchester City.
“Charlie has an amazing awareness of where he is on the pitch and where other players are on the pitch. His vision is so good, he can split a defence with a pass.
“And he has that desire to do well. When he’s on that pitch he can be an animal, he’s a winner.”
Some teams must already be jealous of the talent that our academy is producing, and I’m proud that the current hierarchy is keen to progress with bringing our future stars into the first-team, and with such talent it should surely only be a matter of time before we are climbing back up the table, especially if the club is also going to continue to back the manager to bolster the squad in the way we have this summer.
Could you imagine a starting line-up including one of Eddie Nketiah or Folarin Balogun, along with the likes of ESR, Saka, Patino and Azeez all in behind the striker to showcase the hard work of the academy at Hale End?
Patrick