Arsenal summer signing Cristhian Mosquera has piled praise on two Hale End academy gems he’s noticed since his arriving in North London, claiming they boast maturity far beyond their years.
Hale End prospering with conveyor belt of Arsenal sensations
Arsenal’s academy has long been a cornerstone of the club’s identity, and in recent years, it has blossomed into one of the Premier League’s most established talent factories.
Since the rise of England winger Bukayo Saka, whose breakthrough into the first team has been nothing short of spectacular, the academy’s reputation for developing technically gifted, versatile and exciting young players has only grown stronger.
Appearances
270
Goals
73
Assists
71
Bookings
31
Red cards
0
Minutes played
20,448
Saka, who’s about to be rewarded with a brand-new contract which could make him the club’s only £300,000-per-week player, set a very high benchmark for Hale End graduates.
His success has inspired a new generation of starlets emerging from the club’s youth ranks, many of whom are now knocking on the door of the senior squad or making waves in loan spells elsewhere.
15-year-old Max Dowman is chief among them, having just become the second-youngest debutant in Premier League history behind fellow rising Arsenal star Ethan Nwaneri.
Ethan Nwaneri
15 years, 181 days
Arsenal
Max Dowman
15 years, 235 days
Arsenal
Jeremy Monga
15 years, 271 days
Leicester City
Harvey Elliott
16 years, 30 days
Fulham
Matthew Briggs
16 years, 68 days
Fulham
Dowman, after coming on against Leeds United, marked his first Arsenal league appearance by winning a penalty for Viktor Gyokeres to fire home in a 5-0 thrashing of the newly-promoted side.
Meanwhile, left-back Myles Lewis-Skelly, despite his ongoing battle with Riccardo Calafiori for a starting place this season, established himself as an England international during his breakthrough campaign last term.
The teenager started every Champions League knockout game for Arsenal in 24/25, including both of their semi-final legs against PSG, with Lewis-Skelly making 39 senior appearances in all competitions as a firm regular in Mikel Arteta’s starting eleven.
Sporting director Andrea Berta awarded both Lewis-Skelly and Nwaneri with new long-term contracts in the summer to stave off interest from some of Europe’s biggest clubs, and Mosquera has already been blown away by what he’s seen from the pair.
Cristhian Mosquera piles praise on Lewis-Skelly and Nwaneri at Arsenal
Speaking to The Athletic, Berta’s recruit lavished praise on Lewis-Skelly and Nwaneri, saying the youngsters already “play like they’re 30” and it’s “incredible” to behold.
“I didn’t have him [Dowman] on my radar and when I got to Singapore, he was already training and playing,” Mosquera said.
“When they told me he was 15, I couldn’t believe it. He really is an incredible player, and I think he’s going to be world-class.
“You see 17- and 18-year-olds like Myles [Lewis-Skelly] or Ethan [Nwaneri], and they play like they’re 30, like they’ve been playing football their whole lives. It’s incredible.”
As Lewis-Skelly fights for his left-back spot, Nwaneri is yet to start a single Premier League game so far this season — but that is testament to the abundance of attacking quality in Arsenal’s squad.
Martin Odegaard’s new injury could free up space for the latter to accumulate more minutes, if Eberechi Eze doesn’t completely steal the number 10 role, but it is important to remember that Nwaneri is still very much in his infancy.
Interestingly, Arsenal chiefs hold very high hopes for Mosquera too, and there is a belief behind-the-scenes that their new defender could soon become one of the best centre-backs in world football.
“He (Hincapie) is coming in with the idea that Mosquera is more of a young project,” said journalist Graeme Bailey.
“They [Arsenal] see him as someone who, in three or four years, could be one of the best in the world.”