Arsenal gained a reputation for their development of young players during Arsene Wenger’s reign, with the legendary manager putting a focus on developing talent through the youth teams.
The Gunners signed multiple young players during Wenger’s reign, and often utilised their development structure to improve the senior side.
While they had some successes with signing young players, they’ve also had their fair share of poor signings and cases of players failing to deliver on their potential.
Very few are still at the club, though they still have a few youngsters at the club – most notably Gabriel Martinelli, Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe.
Mirror Football has identified seven of Arsenal’s past wonderkids and taken a look at where they are now.
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Kieran Gibbs
Former left-back Kieran Gibbs spent a significant amount of time at Arsenal, playing more than 200 times for the Gunners.
He signed in 2007 but didn’t make his debut until 2008 following a loan at Norwich City, and seemed destined to be Ashley Cole’s long-term heir at Arsenal.
He was allowed to leave for West Brom in 2017 after being cast aside by Wenger, and this week signed a pre-contract agreement with Major League Soccer franchise Inter Miami.
Gibbs will join the team owned by David Beckham in the summer after leaving West Brom.
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Jack Wilshere
Jack Wilshere was once viewed as England’s answer to Xavi, and was expected to play in the national side for years to come.
The central midfielder exploded onto the scene in 2010, and his brilliance was there for all to see.
He famously took apart a world-class Barcelona side in 2011 on what was his coming-out party to European football.
But injuries derailed his time at the club, and he was restricted to less than 200 games across his ten years with the senior side.
In 2018 he was allowed to leave for West Ham, but injuries followed him, and he now plays for Championship side Bournemouth.
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Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is perhaps the most successful player on our list, having won the Champions League and Premier League during his career.
Unfortunately for Arsenal, however, both of those trophies came at Liverpool.
The midfielder also suffered numerous injuries during his time at Arsenal, and those issues followed him to Anfield.
He missed out on 81 games through injury while at the Emirates, and failed to play more than 29 times in any Premier League season before moving to Anfield.
He is still at Liverpool, but is facing an uncertain future under Jurgen Klopp and has been tipped to be sold this summer.
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Theo Walcott
Theo Walcott was certainly tipped for stardom after being bought for £5million as a teenager in 2006.
He had signed from Southampton after emerging onto the scene for the Saints, a path Oxlade-Chamberlain would follow a few years later.
Walcott’s time at Arsenal was largely spent on the wing, though he would always insist he wanted to play as a central striker.
After falling out of favour at the club, he moved to Everton in 2017 and remained a constant in the side prior to his loan to Southampton last summer.
Henri Lansbury
Midfielder Henri Lansbury joined Arsenal from Norwich as a schoolboy, but only ever made three Premier League appearances for the Gunners.
He had four straight loan spells prior to being sold to Nottingham Forest in 2012, where he played his best football.
Lansbury was consistently linked with moves away, but only left in 2017 when Aston Villa paid £3m for his services.
That spell didn’t go according to plan after the appointment of Dean Smith, however, and his contract was cancelled in January.
Later that month he signed a six-month contract with Bristol City.
Benik Afobe
Congo international Benik Afobe was another player who developed in the Arsenal youth team.
The striker spent five years out on various loan spells, including Huddersfield Town, Millwall, Reading and Milton Keynes Dons.
Wolves eventually signed him on a permanent deal in 2015, and his impressive form in his only season at Molineux earned him a £10m move to newly-promoted AFC Bournemouth.
Afobe seems to have been unable to settle anywhere, however, and has since had two spells each [loan and permanent] at Wolves and Stoke, as well as a loan to Bristol City.
He currently plays on loan for Turkish side Trabzonspor.
Jay Emmanuel-Thomas
Jay Emmanuel-Thomas only managed to make five appearance for the first team, with only one coming in the league.
Despite impressing in the youth team and winning the FA Youth Cup and Premier Academy League, he was unable to break through to the senior side.
He left for Ipswich in 2011 before moving to Bristol City, where he enjoyed his best spell of form with 24 league goals in 82 games.
Nicknamed ‘JET’, his explosive speed made him a handful in the lower leagues.
After a bizarre one-season stint at Thai League 1 side PTT Rayong, he now plays for Livingston in Scotland.
