ARSENAL have reportedly made an improved contract offer to one of their prolific centre-forwards amidst growing concerns that he could soon leave the club.
Sixteen-year-old Chido Obi Martin of Nigerian parentage hit the headlines in November 2023 while representing the Gunners’ Under-16s, scoring sensational 10 goals in one game against Liverpool’s youth team.
Following his rise to fame, Obi Martin continued to excel in the Under-18 Premier League, bagging a remarkable 32 goals in the 2023-24 campaign, including seven in a 9-0 demolition of Norwich City.
Further multiple-goal hauls for the 2007-born striker included a five-goal showing against West Ham United, while he also scored four against Crystal Palace and Fulham and netted hat-tricks against Chelsea and Southampton.
Obi Martin’s prolific exploits have not been limited to just club level, as he has 11 goals to show from 18 matches for Denmark at Under-17 level, netting twice in their run to the semi-finals of this year’s European Championships.
The Arsenal man was named in the Team of the Tournament for the Under-17 Euros, but his long-term future remains the topic of much uncertainty, as he cannot sign professional terms with the Gunners until he turns 17 in November.
Arsenal are pushing to agree scholarship terms with the Danish youngster, though, and according to journalist Fabrizio Romano, they have now submitted an improved offer to his entourage.
Mikel Arteta – who has already invited Obi Martin to train with the first team – is also spearheading Arsenal’s attempts to keep Obi Martin at the club, but no decision has been made yet.
Any potential pathway to the first team will be a key factor in whether Obi Martin decides to pen a new contract, and the 16-year-old is not short of suitors from elsewhere in Europe.
German giants Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund are both believed to be keeping a close eye on developments and have supposedly already submitted bids for Obi Martin, who joined Arsenal from Copenhagen in 2022.
For a club that has always prided themselves on those hailing from Hale End, Arsenal have seen a handful of promising academy products sever ties with the club in recent times – a worrying trend for Gooners.
While Bukayo Saka is shining bright and is an undisputed starter for club and country, his fellow academy graduates – Reiss Nelson, Emile Smith Rowe and Eddie Nketiah – have failed to become important players for Arteta and will likely be on the way out this summer.
In terms of current youth players forcing their way into the first team, the only man really knocking on the door is Ethan Nwaneri, whom Arsenal did convince to commit his future to the club a few months ago.
However, the Gunners announced on Tuesday that both Amario Cozier-Duberry and Reuell Walters had rejected the chance to sign new deals, with neither viewing the Emirates as the perfect place to advance their careers.
Arteta has sometimes shown a reluctance to offer minutes to academy prospects – the Champions League draw with PSV Eindhoven last year springs to mind – so it would not be at all surprising to see Obi Martin decide that his destiny lies elsewhere.
