Arsenal are currently the Premier League title contenders. Mikel Arteta has transformed the club. One of the reasons behind the club’s success is their academy. Gunners have one of the most succesful academy in Europe. Bukayo Saka who is Arsenal’s main man in attack right now is their academy graduate. Per Mertesacker has done an awesome job in transforming the academy. However, one Arsenal wonderkid is reported to leave the academy. In addition, he is set to join their arch rivals in the Premier League. The name of the player is Chidozie Obi-Martin and is said to be joining Manchester United.
Who is Chidozie Obi-Martin
Chidozie Obi-Martin is commonly known as Chido Obi. He is 16 years old and born in Denmark. His mother is Danish and his father is Nigerian. Obi started his career in Denmark with KB. However he moved to England at the age of fourteen. Obi joined Arsenal in 2022. Despite being 16 years old, Obi’s performances earned him spot in higher age levels.
Obi enjoyed a great time with Arsenal in the 2023/24 season. He broke many records in the process. Obi scored 32 goals in just 18 appearances. He broke the record of most goals scored in the single under 18 Premier League season. Obi has impressed a lot of big clubs. Real Madrid and Bayern Munich were linked with him. However Arsenal wonderkid looks very likely to choose Manchester United as his next destination.
Chido Obi is able to represent Denmark and Nigeria due to his parents. In addition, he is also able to represent England. Firstly, Obi chose to represent Denmark under-16 team in 2022. However, he switched sides in February 2023 and represented England under-16 team. However, he once again decided to switch the team and represent Denmark in April. Obi scored 2 goals in 3 appearances. This earned him a spot in under-17 team. Later he was included in Denmark’s squad for under-17 Euros. Obi continued to impress and earned a spot in the team of the tournament.
Arsenal wonderkid to join Manchester United
Arsenal made an approach to keep Obi at the club. However the player was not interested. Fabrizio Romano revealed that Gunners improved their proposal but this has failed too. Chido wants to leave the academy and is looking for the new one. David Ornstein too said that Chido is ready to move on. Ornstein added that Obi has already visited Carrington training centre and is close to joining Manchester United. However the discussions have not yet advanced and Obi is listening to offers from other clubs too.
Arsenal signed Obi from KB in 2022 when no one knew about him. He had potential but the Premier League runner ups embraced his performances. Now every big club knows about Chido Obi-Martin. Obi has represented Arsenal at under-18 level along with under-21 level too. Arsenal don’t want to lose their wonderkid and hence have done their best. According to TBR Football, they even improved their initial proposal. However the player is not convinced at all and wants to leave.
Obi’s departure will be a big loss for Arsenal in future. However, the club can’t be blamed at all as they have tried their best. The 16 year old striker has many options available. However he seems to join Arsenal’s arch rivals Manchester United. This will cause double disappointment for Gunners. Arsenal will have to swallow the disappointment and face the situation. Hopefully, they will find his replacement soon. Speaking about Chido Obi-Martin, no matter which club he joins, his future seems to be very bright. He is often compared to Victor Osimhen who is one of Arsenal’s target this summer.
As featured on GoonerNews.com
