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‘More exciting than Saka’: Arteta could give debut to Arsenal gem – our view

Photo by David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images
Photo by David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images
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BOREHAMWOOD, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 04: Salah-Eddine Oulad M'hand celebrates scoring Arsenal's 2nd goal with Reuell Walters and Omari Hutchinson during the Premier League 2 match between Arsenal U23 and Chelsea U23 at Meadow Park on February 04, 2022 in Borehamwood, England. (Photo by David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
Photo by David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images

Arsenal are potentially a little short on attacking options for Saturday.

The Gunners welcome Brentford to North London and Mikel Arteta might need to bring an academy graduate into the squad.

That’s because with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang gone, Folarin Balogun on loan at Middlesbrough and Gabriel Martinelli suspended, the Spanish manager might need additional support.

And with that in mind, it seems probable that an academy starlet will be included in the Arsenal squad tomorrow – and that youngster could well be 18-year-old Omari Hutchinson.

Hutchinson, who hasn’t made a senior appearance for the Emirates Stadium outfit, seems to be the next promising prodigy coming through the club’s famous academy.

More exciting than Saka?

In fact, Four Four Two wrote last week that people inside London Colney believe Hutchinson to be even ‘more exciting than Bukayo Saka’ in an incredible illustration of his talent.

He played 36th in the publication’s list of football’s 50 best teenagers and honestly, a debut cannot be discounted if he does indeed make the squad.

Let’s be clear, Arsenal could potentially have the Brentford match sewn up with 20 minutes to go and with Arteta’s squad already thin, the Spaniard might not see much harm in using the remainder of the match to blood the next generation.

Of course, that is assuming that the Gunners steamroll their fellow Londoners on Saturday, which could be considered a brazen assumption when you consider that they’ve only scored two goals across all competitions since Boxing Day.

However, if Arteta does include a youngster, it’ll be Hutchinson – who scored for the Under-23 side again in midweek, having already been training with the first team – and a senior debut could well follow on the same day, depending on how the encounter goes.

BOREHAMWOOD, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 04: Omari Hutchinson celebrates scoring Arsenal's 3rd goal during the Premier League 2 match between Arsenal U23 and Chelsea U23 at Meadow Park on February 04, 2022 in Borehamwood, England. (Photo by David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
Photo by David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images