Mikel Arteta has chance to put right key Arsenal mistake in quest to beat Man City to league title

Mikel Arteta must right one of his wrongs at Arsenal this season after Charlie Patino’s shock transfer.

Not many would have expected to hear the news of Charlie Patino’s £1m exit from Arsenal this summer.

The 20-year-old was an incredibly highly-rated prospect at Hale End, making his departure a difficult pill to swallow.

After spending the 2023/24 campaign on loan at Swansea City, Patino returned to North London with his mind made up on his future beyond the Emirates.

Mikel Arteta made a mistake with Charlie Patino

Patino’s nine-year stay at Arsenal is poised to come to an end this summer as Deportivo La Coruna have agreed a deal with the Gunners.

The midfielder shone on his senior debut for Arsenal back in 2021 but has had little chance to impress since, seeing Arteta’s handling of Patino questioned by journalist Charles Watts.

The manager dropped the youngster from the club’s pre-season tour of the United States in 2022, which Watts identified as a ‘big turning point’ in the academy graduate’s hopes of making it at Arsenal.

Arteta might have fumbled a star talent in Patino amid criticism over his lack of attention to the academy over the years of his reign; however, the Spaniard can now prove doubters wrong.

Arteta can overturn Patino mistake by giving Ethan Nwaneri a platform

Only time will tell just how far Patino’s wings can spread away from Arsenal, with the Gunners expecting big things having inserted a sizeable sell-on clause into his proposed contract in Spain.

Arteta might be reviewing where it went wrong with his management of the 20-year-old’s talent, giving the manager fuel to power a resurgence in academy attention.

Arsenal’s progression over the past few years has made it even harder for young talents to make their mark but now, one player has a real chance to earn his breakthrough.