Being one of the biggest clubs in England, Arsenal have been blessed with a plethora of simply sensational players over the years.
The likes of Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and Patrick Vieira came to define an era of Premier League history thanks to their incredible exploits at Highbury.
Even though they couldn’t bring the same kind of success to N5, the likes of Mesut Özil, Alexis Sanchez and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang all got the fans on their feet at the Emirates.
However, alongside signing senior players and turning them into superstars, the North Londoners have a proud history of bringing in youngsters and giving them a chance to shine in the first team, including one international superstar who was eventually sold on for a mammoth profit.
Hale End's modern star
Due to its success in producing unreal talents, there is a massive list of players you could choose from to represent Hale End, but in terms of the current day, there can only be one: Bukayo Saka.
The now 23-year-old has become the poster boy of this Arsenal team, and while that’s in no small part down to his outrageous ability and output, it’s also thanks to the fact that he’s come up through the academy and spent his whole career at the club, helping to build a stronger connection to the fans and local community.
Despite being so young, the firm fan favourite has already made 236 appearances for the club, in which he has scored a staggering 61 goals and provided 60 assists, equating to a world-class average of a goal involvement once every 1.95 games and solidifying his place as the best player to come out of the academy in modern history.
This incredible form has seen his valuation soar up to €140m – £116m – per transfermarkt, but given his connection to the fans, the regard Arteta holds him in and the fact he is an essential piece of this new Arsenal side, it feels tremendously unlikely that he would ever be sold, even for twice that amount, which is just one of the things that separates him from a previous academy star who netted the North Londoners a massive profit over 13 years ago.
Cesc Fàbregas' career
Yes, the player in question is Cesc Fàbregas, who cost Arsenal around £2m in 2003 when fees and compensation were considered, and while the Spaniard joined the club as a 16-year-old, he spent a short period in the academy set-up before progressing into the first team.
However, once the incredible talent had established himself in the starting lineup, he was there to stay.
During his time in North London, he made 303 appearances under Arsène Wenger, in which the “astonishing talent”, as dubbed by talent scout Jacek Kulig, scored 57 goals and provided 95 assists.
Appearances
303
Goals
57
Assists
95
Goal Involvements per Match
0.50
FA Cups
1
This means that despite still being a teenager when he broke through, the Arenys de Mar-born gem averaged a goal involvement once every 1.99 games, lending serious credence to Kulig’s claim that he was “one of the best U21s in Premier League history.”
Unfortunately for the Gunners, the Spaniard’s unreal performances eventually caught the eye of his former side, Barcelona, who made him one of their primary transfer targets.
In the summer of 2011, the then-24 returned to the Catalan club for a massive fee of up to £35m, and while the fans would surely have rather kept him, the fee was at least 1150% more than he cost the club, which was especially important at the time given the construction of the Emirates.
Over the next 12 years, the incredibly successful international would make 151 appearances for Barcelona, 198 for Chelsea in a move that burned what few bridges he had left, 68 for AS Monaco and 17 for Italian outfit Como, where he is now the manager.
Overall, Fabregas remains one of the most talented players to have played in the academy and first team at Arsenal, and while his exit and subsequent move to the Blues may have tarnished his reputation among some fans, he did at least make the club a significant profit when he left 13 years ago.
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