Hale end. Although not quite La Masia, Arsenal’s academy system has quickly become respected across the country.
The Gunners have always had a tendency to produce top young players, but in the last decade this has become evident at a special level.
From Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe to Ethan Nwaneri and Max Dauman, a conveyor belt of talent has consistently provided Mikel Arteta with some of the best young talent in the country.
For Nwaneri and Dauman, the goal is to follow in the footsteps of their predecessors, and that could very well be the case.
The cross-generational academy duo have become the two youngest players in Premier League history, and the world is on their side. They look poised to dominate English football for years to come.
Youngest player in PL history | |
|---|---|
player | year |
1. Ethan Nwaneri | 15 years 5 months |
2. Max Dauman | 15 years 7 months |
3. Jeremy | 15 years 8 months |
4. Harvey Elliott | 16 years 1 month |
5. Matthew Briggs | 16 years 2 months |
Nwaneri looks special, but Dauman looks next level. At just 15 years old, he has burst onto the scene with incredible speed and is already making an impact on the Premier League game. It’s an echo of Lamine Yamal’s rise at Barcelona.
Arsenal are hoping to bring in another Yamal or Saka, but expectations will need to be tempered, just as they did when Saka emerged under Unai Emery.
What happened when Saka appeared at Arsenal
Arsenal supporters don’t often have Emery to thank, but he was the manager who took notice of Saka and gave him his first-team debut.
The date was November 29, 2018. The competition was the Europa League. His opponent was Vorskla Poltava. Saka came on from the bench and was 17 years, 2 months and 24 hours old in the 3-0 win. The rest, as they say, is history.
Just a few weeks later, Saka made his first start for Arsenal in a 1-0 Europa League win against Qarabag. In the New Year, he made his Premier League debut on 19 January 2019 in a 4-1 win against Fulham.
Saka’s first starting lineup |
|---|
GK – Emi Martinez |
RB – Karl Jenkinson |
CB – Socrates |
CB – Laurent Koscielny |
LB – Ainsley Maitland-Niles |
Cm – You are Elneny |
CM – Joe Willock |
CAM – Mesut Ozil |
RW – Eddie Nati |
Lw – from Bukayo |
CF – Alexandre Lacazette |
Initially Saka was positioned on the left, but made seamless transitions to both flanks. His first goal as a senior came from the right wing.
He was supposed to score a goal against Qarabag by firing a shot past the goalkeeper from just a few yards out, but he finally found the back of the net nearly a year later.
The Europa League was the perfect competition for Saka to develop, and he scored his first goal in Arsenal colors on the continent, scoring in a 3-0 win against Frankfurt.
The England international currently finds a home on the right wing, but spent much of the early stages of his career playing at left-back or left wing-back.
In fact, he has played as a left-back 21 times in his club career. Saka played in that position when Arteta played his first game in charge of the club in December 2019. He also made his England debut in that area of the pitch.
It is therefore rather remarkable that he is currently one of the best wingers in world football. Arsenal journalist Charles Watts even went so far as to say that the club’s number seven in 2023 is “the best right winger in the world”.
Now in 2025, Saka has lived up to those expectations, winning several England Player of the Year awards and proving that he is worthy of the big stage for club and country. He stepped up even more, scoring at key moments at Euro 2024, scoring against Switzerland and scoring inside the Bernabeu last season.
So where will the next Saka come from in 2025, seven years after Arsenal’s best player burst onto the scene?
Arsenal’s next Saka comes from Hale End
Whether by luck or thanks to the hard work of those behind the scenes at academy level, Hale End has enjoyed great success in recent years in terms of producing players who are ready to be integrated into the first team.
Nwaneri made 37 appearances for Arsenal’s first team last season, scoring nine goals and providing two assists. For the 17-year-old, it was a remarkable campaign.
However, this teenager is no longer the darling of the academy. Dauman is a shiny new toy with his own influences.
Although he is yet to score at the top level, the 15-year-old has shown why he is so highly regarded. He won a penalty in the pre-season game against Newcastle and again in the 5-0 win over Leeds earlier in the season. He used his incredible dribbling ability to accomplish this. Few players in the game have better ball control than Dauman.
But while they will naturally draw comparisons to Saka as they are both left-footed and play on the right, it is the rise of Miles Lewis-Skelly that evokes the strongest comparisons to his international colleague.
While many onlookers spent much of last season waxing lyrical about Nwaneri, it was actually Lewis Skelly who enjoyed the most spectacular rise, quickly overtaking his good mate to become one of the first names on the team sheet.
However, just like Saka, he also came onto the scene from the same position and in the same role.
Lewis-Skelly is a midfielder by trade and the Gunners envision his future there. However, his development so far has been best demonstrated at left-back.
The 18-year-old, who replaced the injured Riccardo Calafioli last season, had an outstanding season and was eventually nominated for the PFA Young Player of the Year award.
Although he was sent off twice for indiscipline, he played a particularly important role during the club’s run to the Champions League semi-finals.
Premier League great Rio Ferdinand said on TNT after Arsenal’s victory over Real Madrid in the Spanish capital. “I’m sorry, but is Lewis-Skelly really 18? His date of birth is correct, right? He’s so calm with and without the ball, he looks so cool. Before the game, he was on the phone, just talking and relaxing. He’s special.”
Therefore, like Saka, he broke out at left-back despite not being in his natural position, and has the calm and mature personality of a fellow Hale Ender.
As Thomas Tuchel recently outlined, Lewis-Skelly’s problem is game time.
Last season was a special one for the teenager, who also earned his first England cap. He also scored a goal on his debut for the national team. He’s incredibly talented, okay.
Still, Arsenal’s team is stacked right now. Calafioli is fit again and the academy graduate is still awaiting his first Premier League start.
Asked if Lewis Skelly would be included in next summer’s World Cup squad if he did not play regularly, the Three Lions manager said: “Maybe that could be a problem for him, yes. Just being a good citizen in camp is not enough all year round.”
“He has to perform regularly at club level. He was recognized for his achievements in the last camp. As we accelerated his career, we were convinced that we should take care of him and appoint him. After calling him last season, it was our responsibility.”
We have to remember that Arsenal’s crown jewel is only 18 years old. Even if he doesn’t make it to next year’s World Cup, his time will definitely come.
However, he may not be able to play as a left-back like Saka. Arsenal’s brilliant number seven, the club’s marquee player, eventually scored on the right. He captained the club and made 200 Premier League appearances, scoring 55 goals and providing 51 assists.
However, as Arsenal club official Hand once revealed, Lewis-Skelly is also thought to have the potential to be a ‘future captain’, and he must channel his inner Saka now to get there.
At some point he will change positions to midfield and that’s when he will really push and explode. Just wait.