USA World Cup star Yunus Musah has opened up on why he left Arsenal for La Liga side Valencia despite spending the majority of his youth career with the north London side.
Speaking to the Evening Standard, the 19-year-old midfielder revealed that his decision to leave England for Spain was based on his own intuition that he was good enough to play senior football, with Musah citing Arsenal’s first-team squad depth as a key reason to depart the Gunners for Valencia.
The New York-born maestro spent seven years with at Arsenal’s academy where Musah would go on to play for England at numerous youth levels. However, the prospect would eventually go on to move to Valencia in 2019 as well as switch his international allegiance to the USA, two decisions which have paid off big time.
As well as being a regular for the Spanish giants, Musah is regarded by many as one of America’s most exciting talents, with the youngster already making 20 appearances for the North American nation and wowing pundits in his World Cup debut this week against Wales.
Yet things could have been different had Musah stayed with Arsenal, with the midfielder saying on his decision to leave north London: “That was one of the reasons I chose to move to Spain [lack of playing time]. I felt at the time maybe, we’ll never know, that I wasn’t able to be in the Arsenal first team so early.”
The Valencia wonderkid added: “Their team was really good and I felt at my age I could play first-team football and there was the chance to move to Valencia. Things turned out great. I’m very grateful for that.”
Arsenal could regret letting Musah leave after World Cup displays for the USA
The USA might have only played one fixture at the World Cup, but Musah’s performance against Wales was enough to get people talking, with Arsenal potentially soon to be in a position where they question why they allowed the midfielder to leave two years ago.
After all, the 19-year-old has established himself as a regular for the US in this exciting generation for the country. And if the Valencia star continues to impress in Qatar, Arsenal might kick themselves for allowing Musah to leave before he was given a chance to show himself at senior level.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
