Bukayo Saka has become Arsenal’s poster boy in recent years but, in another world, it could have been Nathan Tella becoming a fan favourite on the flanks.
The Hale End ranks have produced some decent players for Arsenal in recent times.
Look through the Premier League and you will find a number of players who came up in the Gunners ranks.
Joe Willock at Newcastle United, Alex Iwobi at Everton, Josh Dasilva at Brentford and Omari Hutchinson at Ipswich Town all spring to mind.
Those players had to leave for first-team action and that has been the case for Emile Smith Rowe too.
Smith Rowe has signed for Fulham as he seeks consistent playing time away from the Emirates Stadium whilst Eddie Nketiah is wanted by Bournemouth.
Theo Walcott on Nathan Tella
Those players all had to move on with Bukayo Saka the only one to really emerge as a superstar into the Arsenal first team.
Arsenal have been able to make considerable money off academy prospects but Nathan Tella is an example of a player who had to move on as a teenager.
Tella spent a decade in the Arsenal ranks but suffered heartbreak upon being released at the age of just 17.
Tella praised Arsenal just last week, acknowledging that they were always trying to help him even after letting him go.
The winger moved on to Southampton and now Bayer Leverkusen, where he won the Bundesliga title alongside former Arsenal star Granit Xhaka.
Theo Walcott has now commented on Tella, highlighting that they spoke as Southampton teammates when Burnley swooped to take Tella on loan in 2022.
Speaking on BBC Radio Five Live’s Monday Night Club, Walcott noted that playing under Vincent Kompany and Xabi Alonso has given Tella a great progression in his career.
Walcott then predicted that Tella will be back in the Premier League one day, admitting that he has ‘no doubt’ about a future transfer.
“Nathan Tella came and actually spoke to me in regards to Kompany when he was at Burnley, he said ‘I’ve got an opportunity to go and play some football in a position I want to play, what are your thoughts on it with Kompany being a new manager’, I said ‘you’re answering all of your own questions, you’re saying them out loud – you’re making your decisions already’. I just think, the career path for him… then he goes and wins the league, Nathan Tella, under Xabi Alonso with new ideas, he’s developed and he will be in the Premier League one day, no doubt – I’m a big fan of his,” he added.
Could Tella end up back at Arsenal?
Arsenal have seen Saka become a genuine hero at the Emirates Stadium but there isn’t much natural competition for him at Arsenal.
West Ham United have eyed Reiss Nelson this summer and he could yet be on the move before the end of the month.
Nelson is the only real challenger on the right side and Arsenal may be in the market for somebody who can operate on both flanks.
Fans will have much bigger names in mind than Tella but you can never say never in this game.
Mikel Arteta’s friend Xabi Alonso has reaped the rewards of Tella’s talent in Germany as he bagged six goals and three assists last season despite starting just 16 games across the Bundesliga and Europa League, coming on in 19 more.
Tella provides great pace and if he can keep progressing at Bayer Leverkusen, Arsenal may find that the 25-year-old is impossibly to ignore.
A return seems a little unlikely but if Arsenal ever came calling for Tella down the line, he would surely jump at the chance.
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