It seemed inevitable that Charlie Patino would make his first-team debut at some point this season, and the occasion was made even better for the midfielder as he scored his first senior goal against Sunderland.
Whatever Patino goes on to achieve in his career, he has already got further than many academy players manage and he will now hope to receive further opportunities in due course, with the FA Cup tie away to Nottingham Forest another occasion when he could possibly be named amongst the substitutes.
From a wider perspective, Patino’s involvement with the first-team is another major boost for the academy as a whole. With Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe starring on a regular basis, the prospects who are currently progressing through the system will have plenty of players to be inspired by.
Throughout Arsenal’s history there has been a strong focus on the academy and now, after several years in which maybe not as many youngsters were produced as had been hoped, there have been more players coming through in recent seasons.
For a considerable period of time Patino has been viewed as a player with a good chance of breaking into the squad. He has frequently played above his age group and has already gained plenty of experience playing for the U23s at the age of 18.
If Patino can develop defensively to add to his excellent passing and superb technique then he could well prove to be a useful player in the near future, although it is important not to rush him.
In addition to his own progress he will also be seen as a player who other youngsters, many of whom have played alongside him at academy level, will be looking to emulate.
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Jeorge Bird is the author of www.arsenalyouth.wordpress.com Follow him on Twitter @jeorgebird
Azeez has a lot of good things said about him. Hope his loan at Portsmouth goes well and he comes back and stars for us.
How is the loan going, by the way?
https://dailycannon.com/2021/12/danny-cowley-miguel-azeez-progress/
Thanks! So, getting promising after a tough start.
Shows how quickly a career passes by. Daniel Crowley is already a manager.
Didn’t Eddie come through the youth setup? Didn’t he just score a hat trick?
I believe he mainly came through the Chelsea system, we signed him after Chelsea released him.
He did, against a third division team.
League One (New second division).
Premier League
Championship
League 1
League 2
A lot of good things coming out of the academy in the last couple of years. Getting Per on board was a masterstoke he sees the person as a whole and not just the player which seems to be bringing out well rounded young players.
Per is awesome and when a player for us was one of my favourites, especially in the final against chavski
You’re so right. I loved Per the player and respect Per the man. I’m still in awe of how he performed in the 2017 Cup Final against Chelsea. Best best part of a year out and he comes back into the starting 11 and plays without putting a foot wrong, while providing much-needed calmness and leadership. He’s a consummate professional and has so much to offer our young talent. When a player clearly loves Arsenal and can transfer so much knowledge and experience we should do everything we can to keep them involved with the club. That’s how things used… Read more »
I was at Wembley for that game. We joked on way there that if he played we would get slaughtered as he hadn’t played for a year. Turned out to be the Mertesacker final. He was superb.
Along with Ozil and sanchez.
Saw Per at Slough Town in pre season, he really is a giant 👀
Cazorla vibes! Who knows, maybe we will end up with a Sambi-Patino CM pairing in a few years?
Imagine a scenario where a majority of our first 11 are Hale Enders. That would be awesome.
Indeed it would!
Has Azeez’s development stalled?
Can only be a good thing, awesome 👍👍
In the second half against Sunderland, when Arteta changed formation – We had Odegaard, Smith Rowe and Patino all playing Number 10 at some stage. The future is bright 😀
Just imagine all the podcasts about which one is best…
It’s definitely ARSECAST, no questions!!
Well, if you were talking about prospects, then that’s a different topic altogether lol.
May they give him an opportunity to show his ability
The important part now is to give those youngsters the chance to show off, what they are about. Either in the first team, or on loan. There are few surefire talents like Patino, that are way above everyone else.
I hope a couple other can make it through and make significant contributions to the team. But we should with the ones going really nowhere like with Willock. Nelson and Nketiah will go similar ways. But that makes more space for the next generation of youngsters to come through.
That circle, should not be broken.
Up The Arsenal!
Should’ve been titled “Patino’s Progress Provides Proof Positive of Promotion Possibility”. That said, it’s really heartening to see this steady conveyor belt of talent from the academy to the first team. It seems like there’s always something to look forward to (from the academy) nowadays – not that the first team isn’t doing a damn good job as well!