Arsenal Football Club and their fans have every right to be delighted about thinking about their future. They have a manager who knows how to get Arsenal from the bottom to the top. Currently, he is on doing well on it. Adding to their manager, they have a bunch of youngsters who are considered to be the future leaders of the Gunners and the top players in the coming years. Some of those players are Bukayo Saka, Smith Rowe, and Martin Odegaard are some of the prospects.
Arsenal now has another young talent who is considered a part of the Gunners dream team. The player who was included in the Guardian’s Next Generation” 2020 list: Charlie Michael Patino. The English footballer plays as a midfielder of the Gunners.
Patino started his career at St Albans City before joining Luton Town at the age of seven. At 11 years old, he signed for Arsenal in 2015. Patino rose quickly through the ranks at Arsenal, featuring for the under-18 side at the age of only 14. He is seen as one of Arsenal’s most promising youth prospects, with the head of scouting at Arsenal, Sean O’Connor, describing him as the “best player who has ever walked through the doors at Hale End”, and Arsenal scout Brian Stapleton calling him “the best kid I’ve ever seen.”
“When I went to watch Charlie, I saw straight away the ability. His vision was unbelievable. Everyone was interested him. When I first watched him nobody was aware of him. That’s why Arsenal had to act quickly, then before you know it, Chelsea were there, Manchester City, Tottenham – every club wanted Charlie Patino.” He added.
He signed his first professional contract with Arsenal in October 2020. He was included in The Guardian’s “Next Generation” 2020 list in the same month as one of the best young players emerging from Premier League clubs’ academies.
At the end of December, he made his senior debut for Arsenal against Sunderland in the Carabao Cup. The 18-year-old also scored his first goal for the Gunners on his first-team debut in the 5-1 win.
Former Manchester United player Rio Ferdinand also praised highly about the youngster. He made a bold prediction that the youngster could surpass teammates Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe.
Rio mainly talked about the midfielder’s mentality, and he admitted that he was astonished to see how he plays. He added: “When you talk to anybody who knows him, mentally, he doesn’t get carried away, doesn’t get too low, doesn’t get too high, very balanced kid, but has all the fundamentals in his game to really go to the top of the tree. This kid is the next. I just feel, when you watch him, there’s a beautiful way he plays, the balance, the rhythm, the fans will enjoy watching him.”
Mikel Arteta spoke very fondly about his player after his goal against Sunderland. He said: “He is a kid that is coming through our system, a lovely kid.”
