Charlie Patino is making the right choice by leaving Arsenal

David Ornstein reported on Monday that highly touted midfielder Charlie Patino will leave the club this summer.

The 19-year-old has been one to watch in the fanbase, especially after his debut against Sunderland in 2021, where he scored minutes after coming on for his first Arsenal appearance. Patino has been on loan at the struggling Blackpool, who are on the brink of relegation to League 1, but Patino has stood out as a serious talent and one to watch for the future.

So naturally, the news of this highly rated talent leaving has come as quite a shock to fans, but it is a true sign of the Gunners’ shift as a team. Arsenal have relied heavily on Hale End graduates in recent years. Because of that, fans have gotten used to promoting youth players to full-on first-teamers as a regular thing, but when you compare that to other top teams, they can’t afford to do that.

For example, Romeo Lavia left Manchester City for the same reason Patino is leaving Arsenal. City could not afford to keep the youngster searching for first-team minutes, so he left on a permanent deal to Southampton. Where Charlie Patino chooses to go will be critical for the next steps of his career. Hopefully, he learns from the past and decides to follow in the footsteps of former Hale Ender, like Yunus Musah, who moved to Valencia to develop as a player, as opposed to Omari Hutchinson, who moved to Chelsea last summer and hasn’t gotten that room to grow as a first-team player.

Charlie Patino is making the right choice by leaving Arsenal

From Patino’s perspective, this move makes a lot of sense. The Gunners have been linked with big-money moves for young midfielders and for Patino, who has only one season of professional play under his belt. It’s hard to see where he potentially fits into an Arsenal lineup in the coming years. By moving abroad or to a lower Premier League club, he’ll have the ability to get the game time he needs and develop as a player.

Arsenal have reached a point as a team where they want to be challenging for Premier League titles. Sadly, fewer and fewer Hale End graduates will be able to break into the first team. The time in which Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith Rowe, Reiss Nelson, and Eddie Nketiah broke through was the best time for Arsenal to give youth a chance at the beginning of this project. As Arsenal get closer to the top, it will likely mean fewer Hale Enders will be making an immediate impact.

It’s disappointing, but fans must remember that these young players are prospects. No matter how much talent they have and how badly you want to see them succeed at Arsenal, they have to do what’s best for their careers, and sometimes that’s sadly not with Arsenal.