Mikel Arteta is spoilt for choice when revising the young talent that Arsenal have at the club, with one teen showing signs of a breakthroug.
Arsenal have had their outlook changed since Mikel Arteta’s rein, with the Spaniard reconnecting the squad with the core values of the club to conjure up a stronger work environment.
Gone are the days when high-profile names saw the Emirates as a stepping stone in their career, as Arteta’s current wave of stars are opting to commit their future to the project that the former midfielder is building.
An area of development that the manager has put a lot of work into is the objective to give young players vital roles in the side, as communicated by the Gunners boasting the second-youngest squad in the Premier League.
As relayed by Football365, the north Londoners have just one player over the age of 25 in their favoured 11, with newly summoned David Raya being the oldest in the strongest rotation at 28-years-old.
With an average age of 24.1 in the current squad, Arteta’s young team haven’t let their age define their quality and experience as the Spaniard watched his side go toe-to-toe with Manchester City, missing out on the club’s first Premier League title since 2004 by five points.
The good times are rolling once again in N5 after some years of mediocrity, with a lot of Arsenal’s success being attributable to their youthful revamp.
There is an abundance of young talent in the ranks at Hale End, as some prospects wait in the wings to get their chance to showcase their ability to the manager, with one player from the academy given the opportunity to shine just this week.
Who is Charles Sagoe Jr?
Last Wednesday night, 19-year-old Charles Sagoe Jr was named in the starting 11 to face Brentford in the Carabao Cup at the Gtech Community Stadium, in what was his first taste of senior football in red and white.
Prior to Wednesday, Sagoe Jr’s only association with the first team was being named on the bench against Sporting CP in the Europa League last season, where he played the evening out as an unused substitute.
It’s been a journey of hard work and persistence for the London-born forward, who joined the Hale End academy aged 11 in 2015 from Fulham, and has since progressed through the ranks in north London.
Described on Arsenal’s official site as a “composed and intelligent” player, the teen is utilised most prominently on the left wing, with the capability to play in both central attacking midfield and as a number nine.
The teen has recorded 72 appearances for the Gunners at both U18 and U21 level, with his one senior appearance hopefully marking the start of a special adventure for the wide player at the Emirates.
How much does Charles Sagoe Jr earn?
In the summer of 2022, Sagoe Jr signed his first professional contract at Arsenal, a moment of his career that he dubbed an “amazing feeling” after spending seven years developing to hit such a milestone.
The winger touched upon the project that is being built beyond the academy at the club, telling the club’s media that he wishes to “be a part of” the development of young players at the Emirates under Arteta.
Earning a reported £2.4k-per-week representing the Gunners, the starlet is on the right path to progress in north London, with plenty of stars that have graduated Hale End to look up to and to follow the paths of.
How much is Charles Sagoe Jr worth?
As recorded by Football Transfers, the 19-year-old has a current expected transfer value (xTV) of €0.8m (£700k), which is a less exciting figure to others at the club, however, one that epitomises the journey he is on.
Now worth an eye-watering €102.5m (£88.7m), fellow academy graduate Bukayo Saka took the exact path that Sagoe Jr is exploring, reinforcing just how quickly value can rise and careers can change.
Saka made his senior debut in the winter of 2018, where that summer he was valued around the €3.3m (£2.8m) mark, a figure that was quickly abolished after just a year as it rose to €9.1m (£7.8m) by the summer of 2019.
