Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has seen his young stars deliver already this season, with an academy graduate-heavy side breezing through the Europa League group stage.
The Spaniard turned to youth to kick-start the Gunners season in the Boxing Day win over Chelsea, too, with the likes of Emile Smith Rowe, Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka to the fore.
Here, we look at three youngsters who could be set for breakthroughs in 2021…
There is a buzz growing around the 17-year-old and he is being tipped for big things.
The midfielder is an academy graduate at Arsenal and has played for a higher age group every season at the club. That is a familiar trend of Patino’s career, who captained England’s Under-16 side when he was just 14.
He has continued to develop since then and signed his first pro contract back in October. Patino has already been compared to Jack Wilshere and could be given a chance to shine in the first team if Arsenal opt to clear the decks and promote youngsters.
Miguel Azeez
The 18-year-old midfielder has already made his first-team debut and is very highly regarded by those at Arsenal.
Azeez has been with the club since he was five years old and he is determined to make it at the club. He was heralded for his work ethic during his youth career, but he is flourishing into a complete midfielder.
Comfortable in possession, but athletic too, the teenager looks like a modern midfielder. The Gunners are light on options in midfield, with Dani Ceballos due to return to Real Madrid in the summer when his loan ends, and Azeez could get a chance to step up.
It seems strange saying a £28million player could “breakthrough” at a club. Saliba, however, has had a difficult start to life at Arsenal and is still yet to make his debut.
It looks increasingly likely that he will leave on loan in January, probably to a club in his native France, and that should help the teenager’s development.
Six months of first-team football will then hopefully equip him to be ready to fight for a place in Arsenal’s team. Mikel Arteta is short of centre-back options and Saliba will expect to be a solution to that in the future.
