Mikel Arteta relied heavily last season on Arsenal’s youth in his first full season in charge, mainly due to the incompetence of some of the more experienced players. Although the club finished ninth in the league last season, they have managed to hold onto their best players while still having pull in the transfer market.

Arsenal forward Gabriel Martinelli with his Olympic gold medal after Brazil beat Spain 2-1 after extra-time in the #football final at #Tokyo2020 earlier today. #afc pic.twitter.com/CjUyLQfOYv

— afcstuff (@afcstuff) August 8, 2021

Who are these young players?

Gunners fans will be happy to know that favourites Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith-Rowe and Gabriel Martinelli will remain at the club this season. They also got the signature of up-and-coming star Ben White from Brighton for an estimated £50 million.

With this new signing, Arsenal’s defence looks stronger and more youthful than it has been in years. The team could line out with Tierney, Gabriel, White and Bellerin in the defence with only one of those players over the age of 24.

Forward Martinelli may have struggled badly with injuries in his first two seasons in North London but is now fresh off an Olympic gold medal with Brazil.

Folarin Balugon and Smith-Rowe also had decent seasons for Arteta’s side with three goals and four assists between them in the Europa League.

After all of them, the youngster that stands above the rest is Bukayo Saka. The 19-year-old has shown his ability to play in defence, midfield and forwards for both club and country this year.

He played in four of England’s Euro 2020 matches on their run to the final. The Gunner’s only worry is that the young man’s confidence might be shot after he missed the fifth and final penalty that saw the Three Lions lose the final.

Bukayo Saka sees messages of support from the Arsenal fans after his penalty miss at EURO 2020.

What a touching moment.

@Arsenal pic.twitter.com/c0BKhrktzI

— Football Tweet (@Football__Tweet) August 4, 2021

The ones left behind

With every good young player at the club, another one slips through the cracks. After what was an astonishing loan move to Newcastle, Joe Willock does not seem to be getting a warm welcome back at Arsenal.

The club is days away from agreeing on terms with the Magpies to sell the player to restock funds to buy James Maddison.

Another player seemingly left at the wayside is French defender William Saliba, the 20-year-old has been sent on another loan move to Ligue 1 with the club showing no intention of ever playing him.

Surely @Joewillock, you’ve gotta go for 8 in 8 #NUFC pic.twitter.com/so8KN4Bsqt

— Newcastle Fans TV (@NewcastleFansTV) August 5, 2021

The club still has some promising young prospects on their roster and will hope they bring glory back to the club this season. If Arteta shows more faith in the youth then maybe the team could make a stir in the top European places.

Their first challenge will be to overcome Brentford away from home at 16:00 on Friday 13th August.

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Arsenal, like many clubs, have more than once failed to sign players that would go on to become world superstars. However, the North London club seem to have done so more often than others in recent years.

Perhaps the most famous – or infamous – example of which includes Cristiano Ronaldo. Arsenal were nailed on favourites to sign a young and very much raw Ronaldo in 2003 before the Portuguese winger decided to head up North to Manchester.

There have also been other high-profile instances including the likes of Lionel Messi, Zlatan Ibrahimović and more recently, Kylian Mbappé.

The French international is far from his prime but has already established himself as one of the football’s world superstars. Some have called Mbappé the current best player in the world, particularly after his awe-inspiring performance against Barcelona on Tuesday.

Chelsea declined the opportunity to sign Mbappé for less than £1 million several years ago. Arsène Wenger has now revealed that Arsenal were in a similar situation during contract talks with the Frenchman in 2017.

However, this time it was the other way around, Mbappé rejected Arsenal in favour of staying at Monaco. Even more painful is the fact that they could have signed him for free.

“We can talk about Mbappé, I was at his home when he was undecided whether to extend his contract with Monaco,” Wenger said on beIN Sports.

“He could have come to Arsenal for free.”

Where would Mbappé be now if he chose to sign for Arsenal? What impact would his arrival have on the success of Arsenal?

We’re sure Mbappé isn’t dwelling on his decision given his career to date.

He has a trophy cabinet that most footballers could only dream of.

His accomplishments to date include winning the 2018 World Cup, helping Monaco and PSG to Ligue 1 glory 4 times collectively, leading PSG to 3 Coupe de France trophies and a host of individual honours, also.

The best is yet to come from Mbappé as well as he’s still just 22, scarily. We could be witnessing the makings of a football icon.

Champions League goals before 21st birthday:

1⃣9⃣ Kylian Mbappé
1⃣8⃣ Erling Haaland#UCL pic.twitter.com/5ykhqy6Hg4

— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) FEBRUARY 17, 2021

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