Arsenal have found a new Saka-type player who is Arteta’s ‘future captain’

Hill End. It’s not quite La Masia but ArsenalThe Hans Academy system soon became respected throughout the country.

While the Gunners have always had a habit of producing top young players, it is in the past decade that they have gained a certain level of importance.

from Bukayo from From Emile Smith Rowe to Ethan Nwaneri and Max Daumann, the conveyor belt of talent is constantly delivering Mikel Arteta With some of the best young talent in the country.

For Nwaniri and Dauman, the goal will be to follow in the footsteps of their predecessors, and there is every chance they will do so.

The Al-Ajyal Academy duo became the youngest players on the team Premier League History and the world are their oyster. They look set to dominate English football for years to come.

While Nwaniri looks special, Dauman looks next level. He has exploded onto the scene at just 15 years of age and is already making an impact in the Premier League. It echoes the rise of Lamine Yamal at Barcelona.

And while Arsenal will hope to have another Yamal or Saka on their hands, expectations need to be tempered, just as they did when the latter burst onto the scene under Unai Emery.

What happened when Saka burst onto the scene at Arsenal

Arsenal supporters don’t have much to thank Emery for, but he was the manager who discovered Saka and gave him his first-team debut.

The date was 29 November 2018. The competition was the Europa League. The opposition was Vorskla Poltava. Saka came off the bench in the 3-0 win aged 17 years, two months and 24 hours. The rest, as they say, is history.

Just a few weeks later, Saka made his first start for Arsenal in a 1-0 Europa League win over Karabakh. Then, in the New Year, he made his Premier League debut in a 4-1 win over Fulham on 19 January 2019.

Initially, Saka appeared on the left wing but made a smooth transition across both wings. From the right he scored his first senior goal.

And while he should have scored in that match against Qarabag, where he fired at the goalkeeper from yards out, he finally found the back of the net almost a year later.

The Europa League was a great competition for Saka to develop, and it was on the continental scene that he scored in Arsenal colors for the first time, sealing a 3-0 win over Frankfurt.

While the England international has now found a home on the right wing, for much of the embryonic stages of his career he played at left-back or left-back.

In fact, he played at left-back 21 times during his career with the club. During Arteta’s first match for the club in December 2019, Saka was introduced in this position. He even made his debut for England in that area of ​​the pitch.

It is somewhat remarkable that it is Now one of the best wingers in world football. Arsenal Journalist Charles Watts He even went so far as to say the club’s No.7 was the “best right winger in the world” in 2023.

Now, in 2025, Saka has lived up to those expectations, winning England’s Player of the Year award on several occasions and proving himself to be the man for the big occasion for club and country. He stepped up and scored in a crucial moment at the 2024 European Championship, scoring against Switzerland and scoring inside the Bernabeu last season.

So, in 2025, seven years after Arsenal’s best player emerged, where does the next Saka come from?

Arsenal’s next Saka has emerged from the Hill End

Whether it has been luck, or through the hard work he has put in behind the scenes at academy level, Hill End have had tremendous success in recent years in producing players ready to integrate into the first team.

Last season, Nwaniri featured 37 times for Arsenal’s first team, scoring nine goals and providing two assists. For a 17-year-old, it was an amazing campaign.

However, the teenager was not the academy’s darling anymore. Dowman is the shiny new toy and he’s making his own impact.

Although he is yet to score at a senior level, the 15-year-old has shown why he is rated so highly. He earned a penalty against Newcastle in pre-season and won another penalty against Leeds in a 5-0 win at the start of the season. He did this using his amazing dribbling ability. Few in the game have as good ball control as Dowman.

However, while both would naturally be compared to Saka – being left-footed and right-footed – he is also… Miles Lewis SkellyHis rise sparks the strongest comparisons with his international colleague.

While many spectators spent much of last season talking about Nwaniri, it was actually Lewis Skelly who enjoyed the highest rise, quickly overtaking his good teammate and becoming one of the first names on the team sheet.

But, like Saka, he emerged on the scene out of position and in the same role as well.

Lewis Skelly is a midfielder by trade and this is where the Gunners envision his future. However, his development so far has been the best he can offer at left-back.

While coming on for the injured Riccardo Calafiore last season, the 18-year-old enjoyed an outstanding season, eventually being nominated for the PFA Young Player of the Season award.

While poor discipline cost the youngster at times, as he was sent off on two occasions, he was particularly vital during the club’s run to the Champions League semi-finals.

Speaking on TNT during Arsenal’s win over Real Madrid in the Spanish capital, Premier League legend Rio Ferdinand said: “I’m sorry, is Lewis Skelly really 18? His date of birth is correct, isn’t it? He looks very calm and very cool on and off the ball. Before the game he was on the call, just talking and being chill. He’s special.”

So, like Saka, he stepped into the left-back position even though it wasn’t his natural position, and has the calm, mature personality that his team-mate Hill Ender possesses.

The problem for Lewis Skelly, as Thomas Tuchel recently explained, is his playing time.

Last season was a special one for the teenager, as he also made his first cap for England. He even scored in his first international match. He’s an unbelievable talent, all right.

However, Arsenal’s squad is now stacked. Calafiore has found his fitness again and the academy graduate is still awaiting his first Premier League start of the season.

Asked whether Lewis Skelly would be in next summer’s World Cup squad if he didn’t play regularly, the Three Lions coach said: “It might become a problem for him, yes. Just being a good citizen in camp is not going to be enough over the course of a year.

“You have to perform at club level on a regular basis. In the last camp he got the credit, and I was convinced that we had to take care of him and nominate him because we accelerated his career. It was our responsibility after we called him last season.”

We have to remember that Arsenal’s gem is still only 18 years old. Even if he does not reach the World Cup finals next year, there is no doubt that his time will come.

However, like Saka, he may not come in as a left-back. Arsenal’s in-form No.7, the club’s poster boy, eventually arrived on the right flank. He captained the club, played 200 times in the Premier League, contributing 55 goals and 51 assists.

like The club from the inside is Arsenal’s hand However, once revealed, there is a belief that Lewis Skelly could be a ‘future captain’ too, and he must now channel his inner Saka to get there.

There will be a change in position to midfield at some point, and when that happens, he will be able to move on and really kick off. Just wait.