Arsenal released Nathan Tella as a youngster and the Southampton winger was hit very, very hard by that rejection at a young age.
The Gunners are really reaping the rewards of their Hale End academy.
Bukayo Saka is the clear star of the show but Emile Smith Rowe and Eddie Nketiah have shown promise in the first team too.
Charlie Patino and Khayon Edwards could be the next stars but a first-team future at Arsenal isn’t for everybody.
Others have to go and carve out futures elsewhere, such as Josh Dasilva, Isaac Hayden, Jaidon Anthony and Malcolm Ebiowei.
Arsenal released Nathan Tella
Another name to add to that list is winger Tella.
The 23-year-old wide man is currently on loan at Championship club Burnley and has made a huge impact with five goals in 12 games this season.
Tella is looking to shine in claret and blue before heading back to Southampton and hopefully nailing down a first-team spot.
This comes years after Tella was dumped from the Arsenal academy.
Tella was released by Arsenal back in 2017 and after trials with other clubs, he ended up signing for Southampton.
Wide man Tella has turned out 41 times for Southampton’s first team, bagging two goals and five assists for the Saints.
Former Arsenal scout Brian Stapleton has now told The Athletic that Tella stood out like a sore thumb from a young age because he was just so much better than everybody else.
Stapleton noted that Tella is ‘lightening-quick’ and impressed so much at a young age, giving him a chance at a future with Arsenal.
“He stood out because of how far above everyone else he was,” says Stapleton. “He was lightning-quick, kept the ball very tight to his feet, and at that age, that’s something you don’t see a lot,” he added.
Sadly, injuries meant Tella could never quite kick on again and feature in the Arsenal first team, leading to his departure.
That hit Tella really hard and it’s noted that Southampton staff worked to get him to open up about his Arsenal dream fading away.
Tella would allegedly be very hard on himself in training due to the high expectations placed on him during his Arsenal days.
Letting go of that pain was part of Tella’s development and the hope is that he can become a Premier League regular down the line.
We sometimes forget about the personal side of footballers and being released by a top club at a young age can feel like the end for many.
Tella has had five years away from Arsenal now but we’re sure it still stings.
His challenge now is to shine in the Championship and come back ready to make a big Premier League impact – possibly against Arsenal.
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