Farewell to Arsenal's 'best-ever' academy graduate: Another blow for the Gunners

Arsenal have confirmed the departure of their highly touted academy graduate, who many have hailed as the best player to come through their youth system.

The Gunners have had a busy summer with outgoings. Beloved Hale End product Emile Smith Rowe was the first to quit N5 earlier this summer in a move to Fulham, with Eddie Nketiah expected to follow him out of the door. 

Another prospect, Brooke Norton-Cuffy has left Arsenal for Genoa, while Reuell Walters and Amario Cozier-Duberry both left for free. Teen sensation Chido Obi-Martin, meanwhile, was offered a new contract – but chose to sign for Manchester United.

Now, a player described as the best of the lot has departed, too. Charlie Patino has confirmed his exit from the club with a post on X (formerly Twitter), ahead of an exit to Deportivo La Coruna.

“I joined the club when I was 11 years old with a dream of one day making my debut for Arsenal,” the midfielder wrote. “I was fortunate enough to make my dream a reality and for this I will always be grateful.”

VIDEO Why Arsenal Want Mikel Merino So Badly

According to AS in Spain, the Gunners have negotiated options over Patino's future. It's likely that a significant sell-on clause has been inserted, perhaps even a buy-back clause or a first refusal to the player.

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Losing Patino for what is expected to be a minimal fee, however, is still a big blow. The scout who discovered him, Brian Stapleton, once told GOAL that no one compared to Patino in the Gunners' Hale End setup.

“Of all the years I’ve been scouting, he’s the best kid I’ve ever seen,” Stapleton said. “I got a tip off about Charlie from a guy, so I went over there and I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. He was 11 and I think he was playing in the Under-13s, and I was like ‘wow’.

“His first touch was unbelievable, his vision, his awareness of space. He was way above his years, he was on another planet to anyone else on the pitch. I made a phone call to my head of my department at Arsenal at the time, Sean O’Connor. He asked what I thought and I said, ‘well, I’m not coming back again. I don’t need to see any more, you need to sign this kid straight away.’”

In FourFourTwo's opinion, this is a big blow for Arsenal, especially considering how well-rated Patino was at the club. A hefty sell-on clause, however, is some consolation, especially considering that it looked like the midfielder could leave for free at one point. 

Arsenal primed to complete the signing of Mikel Merino, following Liverpool withdrawing from the race to sign his clubmate, Martin Zubimendi. Negotiations with Real Sociedad have begun, with an agreement in place with the player. Another target, Wojciech Szczesny, has had his contract terminated at Juventus, while Alan Shearer has tipped Arsenal to beat Manchester City to the Premier League title, so long as they can make one key signing.

In other news, one former Chelsea and Arsenal star has revealed all about working with Wenger and Mourinho. He told FFT, too, that when he played with Arteta, you could see he would definitely be a coach.