Arsenal set to lose wonderkid talent as Premier League rivals close in on free agent deal

Arsenal academy player Reuell Walters is said to have rejected a new deal to remain at the Emirates club, and looks set to be departing at the end of this season.

Walters, 19, has been with the Gunners since November 2020 and won the 2022/23 Academy Scholar of the Year Award. He has made 80 appearances for the club’s youth teams and has been on the fringes of Mikel Arteta’s senior squad, but the latest report from The Athletic has suggested the highly-rated defender has opted not to continue his career at N7.

The club reportedly were hopeful of keeping hold of the right-back, who has doubled effectively as a centre-back this season, but Walters is believed to be keen to leave in search of more game time.

While could be a frustrating blow to Arteta’s long-term plans for the squad, the club will at least be due financial compensation should Walters join another English side. The right-back will be able to talk to other clubs from May 18 and has previously been targeted by clubs across Europe, as well as the Premier League and Championship.

Walters, who joined Ethan Nwaneri and Lino Sousa in making the squad that took on PSV Eindhoven in December, was described by Arteta as a ‘big prospect’. The Spanish boss said of his three rising stars: “We want to keep developing players from our system. They deserve to be here. We want to start to give them some experience because they have the talent to hopefully be very close to us. We will try give them the opportunity if we can.”

However, the lack of said opportunities appear to have cost Arteta the rising star. The 19-year-old started out initially in Tottenham’s academy and was reportedly close to joining Manchester United, before being snapped up by the Lilywhites’s fiercest rivals.