The teenage Arsenal goal machine that has tongues wagging all over Europe

THIS is a hugely exciting time for Arsenal, and not just because of Mikel Arteta's drive for the Premier League title. Things are buzzing too for the Arsenal academy - 17-year-old Ethan Nwaneri has already made two first-team appearances, fellow midfielder Myles Lewis-Skelly is progressing well and U14 prospect Max Dowman is making a significant impact at U18 level.

At present, though, much of the discussion is focusing on Chido Martin Obi, with the prolific striker continuing to hit new heights with his goalscoring exploits.

In Arsenal U18s’ 9-0 victory away to Norwich City on Saturday, Martin Obi scored the first seven goals, which included him completing a double hat-trick after just 54 minutes.

The 16-year-old’s form for the U18s makes for incredible reading - he has scored 28 goals in just 16 league appearances this season.

Records continue to fall - he surpassed Folarin Balogun’s tally of 25 from 2018/19 for the most league goals in a season for Arsenal at U18 level. He also broke a more longstanding record - Rhys Murphy’s tally of 20, which was the highest amount of goals scored by a schoolboy for Arsenal U18s in a season, set back in the 2006/07 campaign.

What Martin Obi has done this season is unprecedented for an Arsenal U18 player, and is made even more impressive by the fact that as recently as early February he only had three goals to his name at this level this season.

It must be noted that Martin Obi is considerably taller and stronger than the majority of his opponents at U18 level, which gives him a significant advantage even though he is playing above his age group.

However, there is more to his game than just goals. Martin Obi’s appreciation of space is of a very high standard, while he has worked very