Arsenal have seen Bukayo Saka become a first-team star but not everybody in the Hale End ranks can have that kind of success.
Fans love to see homegrown players emerge from the academy and Arsenal supporters are no different.
Sure, the likes of William Saliba and Martin Odegaard are loved at the Emirates Stadium but the admiration for Bukayo Saka is just different.
Saka is the poster boy for Arsenal fans and the shining example for anybody looking to come up in the Gunners ranks.
Not everybody can follow that path though and some have to move on in order to play first-team football.
Emile Smith Rowe is a prime example having left Arsenal for Fulham in recent days.
Smith Rowe has already made an impact for Fulham in pre-season and will be hoping to thrive away from the Emirates Stadium.
Nathan Tella on Arsenal
Some have to leave even younger though and Nathan Tella did just that.
Arsenal fans had eyes on Bayer Leverkusen last season, cheering on Granit Xhaka as he won the Bundesliga title without losing a game.
Some may not have been too aware that teammate Tella is also a former Arsenal man.
Tella joined the Arsenal ranks as a child before being released at 18.
The speedy winger moved on to Southampton, where he broke through and played 44 first-team games.
After impressing on loan at Burnley, Leverkusen pounced to sign him last summer.
Tella only started eight Bundesliga games last season but still managed five goals and two assists, proving to be a valuable squad player for Xabi Alonso.
The Nigeria international has now reflected on his Arsenal exit whilst speaking to The Guardian.
Tella claims that Arsenal told him that letting him go was a ‘hard decision’ but he just wouldn’t play enough to justify staying put.
The Leverkusen ace praised Arsenal, admitting that they were always checking in on him as he went on trial elsewhere.
Tella added that he has become so much more confident since leaving Arsenal and stopped being the ‘shy kid’ he was in North London.
“They said it was a hard decision but they thought that it [would be] the best thing because even if I’d stayed, they couldn’t offer the game time someone else would, so I could end up being frustrated a lot of the time,” said Tella. “They were always open and honest with me and when I went on trials, they were always quick to message me and say: ‘How’s it going? What do you need?’ or ‘Is there anything we can send over for you?’ I never felt like once they said I’d been released, I was kicked out the door.”
“When I was younger, I struggled with confidence but that’s come as I’ve got older. Some of the coaches still remember me as that shy kid at Arsenal who came in and didn’t really talk much to anyone to now being a Bundesliga and Pokal champion,” he added.
Tella was gutted to leave Arsenal and former coach Brian Stapleton has praised him for his ‘lightning-quick’ pace.
Now shining and winning trophies with Leverkusen, Tella has not let his Arsenal rejection hold him back.
When you factor in that Saka and Tella are of a similar age, Arsenal’s decision to keep Saka and let Tella go looks to be the right one – but the former Arsenal talent still remains grateful to the Gunners.
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