Mikel Arteta opens up on Chido Obi-Martin Arsenal transfer exit ahead of Manchester United reunion

Mikel Arteta opened up on the situation that saw Chido Obi-Martin leave Arsenal in the summer during his pre-match press conference. The Arsenal manager faced the press ahead of the Gunners' clash with Manchester United.

Obi-Martin could indeed play against his old club after finding a place in Ruben Amorim's team. The now-17-year-old has been used as a substitute with other senior players struggling.

He scored plenty of goals for Arsenal's U18s and it was a big blow to see him leave. Arteta explained that he was not very involved in the exit in the end, which saw him make the move to the north west.

"Yeah, I wasn't too involved in that decision. Obviously, when a player decides that the best pathway for him is to leave, there's not much you can do.

"Very unfortunate because we want to keep our players from the academy and to be very successful with the first team. But in that case, with Ayden, we weren't able to do that."

There was much discussion about whether the pathway was enough for players to stay, as Ayden Heaven also left the club for United in January of this year. However, the presence of Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly clearly show that is indeed the case and Arteta was asked about whether that has changed the perception.

"I don't know whether the perception is out. Internally, not. And the reality is very different, because those players are always with us. I mean, I guarantee you that if there is a player there that can help and impact the first team, he's going to be with us."

Arsenal take on Manchester United at 4:30pm UK time on Sunday with coverage and build-up available on football.london’s matchday blog four hours before kick-off.

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