Lord knows Arsenal have their fair share of exciting teenagers.
Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka – who are both only 19 – are two youngsters in particular who look to have huge futures in North London and beyond.
But Arsenal also have an exciting crop of teenage starlets coming in behind those two – and one of them is Charlie Patino.
According to Charles Watts of Goal, everybody at London Colney has been raving about the 17-year-old midfielder.
Watts also adds that people at Arsenal expect Patino to have a similar impact as Saka when he breaks into the senior side.
So many of this generation have been inspired by Gunners of the past – and one player in particular, Santi Cazorla.
The veteran Spaniard is one of the most talented footballers to play for the Emirates Stadium club over the past two decades, having been signed by Arsene Wenger in 2012.
And Patino has admitted that he simply ‘adored’ the little magician, telling Arsenal’s official Twitter: “Growing up I adored Santi Cazorla as a player. There’ssomething about the qualities he had – he was something else. As a midfield player there’s so much I can learn from him.”
Cazorla was released by the Gunners once Wenger stepped aside for Unai Emery three years ago, but it might rank as a big mistake.
You can’t really fault Arsenal for not extending his contract given how severe his injury problems were – a foot amputation was even being considered at one point – but the 36-year-old made 70 league appearances in two years with Villarreal after leaving the Premier League, illustrating he conquered his fitness issues.
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