Why Arsenal initailly released Eze in 2011 – Omeruo

Super Eagles defender Kenneth Omeruo has shed light on why Arsenal released Eberechi Eze from their youth academy in 2011, despite the now–Arsenal star’s obvious talent.

Eze joined the Gunners at 8 during the Arsène Wenger era, a period when the club’s youth system was filled with technically gifted prospects. However, like many top academies in Europe, Arsenal maintained strict annual evaluations to determine which young players would progress to the next level.

After five years in the system, Eze was informed he would not be retained.

Speaking to ARISE News following his hat-trick heroics against Tottenham, Omeruo explained that the decision was part of the ruthless nature of elite youth development.

“In Europe, every club has the U10s and U11s, and they graduate,” Omeruo said.

Read Also: Eze nets historic hat-trick as Arsenal secure 6point gap

“Every year, there’s screening. If you don’t get to the next level, they take you out. For example, you know the story of Ebere now playing for Arsenal. When he was in Arsenal, he couldn’t make it to the next level.

“It doesn’t mean that he wasn’t good enough or he would not get to that level — which he did at some point.
There were other players who were better than him then, so if you can’t get to the next level, you can go to another academy.”

Eze’s journey after leaving Arsenal included trials, setbacks, and stints at clubs such as Millwall and Queens Park Rangers, before eventually breaking out in the Premier League and returning to Arsenal as a top-level player.

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