Arsenal had Thomas Eisfeld on their books between 2012 and 2014 after he joined them from Borussia Dortmund.
During the time of Arsene Wenger, the Gunners had a very strong scouting network which helped them to identify talented youngsters even before other clubs could.
Eisfeld got on their radar as he impressed at the youth team of BVB and they swiftly signed him and took him to England.
He continued his development at the Emirates but could not break into the Arsenal first team.
The German would eventually leave England after a loan spell at Fulham and now plays in a lower-league side in Germany.
However, he does not regret his time on the books of Arsenal and recently recalled how keen the Gunners were to add him to their squad.
He tells Rot Weiss Essen:
“As I only found out later, I had already been scouted for a long time. It must have been several years.
“The request to move to England came relatively late in January. So, the move from BVB to FC Arsenal came about quite spontaneously, because it was about an immediate transfer.
“But since I had the impression after the talks that the club’s way of playing suited me, I wanted to do it.”
Just Arsenal Opinion
We have had some very talented players on our books, but not all of them made it to the first team.
That will not stop us from continuing to groom players and the likes of Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka are success stories that will keep us going.