Manchester United are reportedly confident of winning the race to seal the transfer of exciting Arsenal wonderkid Chido Obi-Martin this summer despite Borussia Dortmund also being interested in him.
The teenager has been incredibly prolific at youth level for Arsenal, and there’ll no doubt be many Gunners supporters who are disappointed and worried about losing him, especially as he now looks likely to join a major Premier League rival.
See below for the latest on this move, which is not done yet, but which seems to be sounding positive for Man Utd as Obi-Martin is thought to favour staying in England over moving to Germany, according to journalist Christopher Michel…
#MUFC are confident they will win the race for Chido Obi Martin. He apparently wants to stay in England, not move to Germany. #SGE and #BVB are also interested in the talent. But no decision has been made yet.
— Christopher Michel (@CMoffiziell) July 22, 2024
United have a proud record of developing and promoting youth, so it’s perhaps not too surprising that Obi-Martin sees this as a good move, though it’s also clearly a gamble when the Red Devils have two young strikers on their books already in the form of Rasmus Hojlund and the recently-signed Joshua Zirkzee.
It will surely be quite the challenge for Obi-Martin to break past those two in the MUFC XI any time soon, though it’s not exactly looking likely to be easy at Arsenal either.
Mikel Arteta is building a far more competitive Arsenal than we’ve seen for some time, so it perhaps makes sense that there is now more of a focus on ready-made players coming in to the side, unlike the focus on youth that we saw earlier on in the Spaniard’s project.
Arsenal has spoilt Arteta. He only know how to swallow. Nothing concerns him with chewing. Every Summer he’ll open his hands for millions to be given to him for player acquisition. Hence he don’t care about the development of youngsters. November will make him five good years at Arsenal, yet you cannot see any single academy player he has developed during that period. If not that the likes of Saka and Martinelli has started playing before his arrival, nobody would have known of them. Loosing Chido Obi will be the height of it all.
Not sure what Man united think they have, seeing as he is too young to sign for them.
Maybe it’s all empty word of mouth promise’s seeing as he is not yet 17.
At the end of the day, he first promised Arsenal that he loved the club and loved playing for them, now with the same tongue he is promising he would now play for united, if the media reports are true.
He could always train with united and then return to Arsenal to sign his first contract at 17. Because nothing is concrete until he is 17, so united have nothing more than a word of mouth promise if anything. Maybe the same word of mouth he gave Arsenal.
Plus he will be taking a huge risk if his goals dry up in the united academy and they then change their mind about his worth.
He should have stuck with the very creative Arsenal academy team that has been assisting his goals through their creativity.
I am not sure that the united academy team would know his style and runs and lay on the same good assists he is use to at Arsenal.
It maybe his parents that has turned his head or an agent trying to make a quick buck off of him, but he is foolish to leave a club that has nurturedcthe likes of Saka because Arteta must hold him in the same high regard, but he is making a huge mistake as united have also got young strikers ahead of him in the pecking order. What is he thinking!