The 8 academy graduates Arsenal sold too soon: Nwaneri & Lewis-Skelly next? | OneFootball

Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly are reportedly seeking pastures new as Arsenal look to balance the books with some pure profit sales this summer.

Arsenal fans are livid to see two of the best Hale End graduates linked with an exit, but the Gunners have previous.

At least Nwaneri and Lewis-Skelly have plenty of first-team minutes under their belts. Unlike the vast majority of these eight players.

Here are eight youngsters Arsenal sold too soon, or for nowhere near enough money.

Donyell Malen

After coming through the ranks at Hollandia and Ajax, Malen was snapped up by Arsenal when he was 16, joining their Under-18s in 2015.

He scored 18 goals in 57 games at youth level for the Gunners and never made a single first-team appearance before being sold to PSV Eindhoven for peanuts in August 2017.

After four very fruitful years at PSV, the Dutch international joined Borussia Dortmund for €30million (£26m) and eventually returned to England when Aston Villa signed him for around £22m.

He showed his ability in fits and starts for the Villans but was again the victim of a lack of opportunities, joining AS Roma on loan in January. The Italian giants are expected to sign Malen permanently this summer.

Villa should break even, but Arsenal made a massive mistake selling an 18-year-old Malen to PSV for a six-figure sum.

The 27-year-old bagged 55 goals and 20 assists in 116 games during a period in which he could have been breaking into the Arsenal first team. They really could have done with him between 2017 and 2021.

Brooke Norton-Cuffy

Wanted by a host of English and Italian clubs, Norton-Cuffy is loving life at Genoa and could earn a lucrative move to a European contender at the end of the season.

He was poached by Arsenal from Chelsea’s academy a decade ago and spent time on loan at Lincoln City, Rotherham United, Coventry City and Millwall before joining Genoa for just £3.5m in August 2024.

Like Malen, Norton-Cuffy never made a senior appearance for Arsenal. He at least left for a seven-figure sum, but he was still massively undervalued by the London club.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing and Arsenal would argue Norton-Cuffy has developed beyond expectations, but it is another transfer misstep from a club with plenty.

Mika Biereth

The players on this list never got a sniff of the Arsenal first team, unlike Lewis-Skelly and Nwaneri, and Biereth is another with zero senior appearances.

He joined Arsenal from Fulham at 18 and, after productive loan spells with RKC Waalwijk, Motherwell and Sturm Graz, the Danish striker joined the latter permanently for £4m.

That is decent money for a player with no first-team appearances, yet Arsenal still managed to undersell him.

Graz sold Biereth to AS Monaco for €13m plus €2m in add-ons (£13m) just six months later and, while the 23-year-old has struggled in France, he is not just someone Arsenal undervalued – he is someone who could have been a genuine option over the last two years.

Dan Ballard

Currently valued at €20m by Transfermarkt, Ballard haunted his former club earlier this season when he scored a superb goal past David Raya in a 2-2 draw.

The Sunderland defender has blossomed into a commanding centre-back and played a key role in their rise back to the Premier League, helping them secure promotion and retain his place despite a flurry of summer arrivals.

Arsenal loaned Ballard to Swindon Town and Millwall before selling him to Sunderland for an undisclosed fee in 2022, believed to be in the region of £2m.

It felt reasonable at the time. Looking back, the Gunners were badly short-changed.

Stephy Mavididi

We are yet to mention a player with meaningful first-team experience at Arsenal, but Mavididi is the first where the regret is largely financial.

It is hard to argue that he would have displaced the club’s attacking options in recent years, though he could have been a useful squad player.

Arsenal sold him to Juventus for €1.5m in 2018 before he impressed at Montpellier, who signed him for €6.3m and later sold him to Leicester City for €7.5m in 2023.

Mavididi did at least make one senior appearance for Juventus.

Ismael Bennacer

The first-team appearance klaxon sounds. Bennacer did not just play a game for Arsenal – he played 71 minutes.

It came in a heavy EFL Cup defeat to Sheffield Wednesday, but it was still a proud moment for the Algerian international.

Sold to Empoli for under £1m, Bennacer developed into an excellent midfielder at AC Milan and is someone Arsenal could have used.

Milan paid €17.2m for him! He spent last season on loan at Marseille and is currently on loan at Dinamo Zagreb.

Carlos Vela

There was plenty of excitement around Vela after he joined from Guadalajara for €3m in January 2006.

He was quickly loaned out and had spells at Celta Vigo, Salamanca, Osasuna, West Brom and Real Sociedad before joining the latter permanently for €14m.

Vela made 62 appearances for Arsenal, scoring 11 goals and providing eight assists. His hat-trick against Sheffield United in the League Cup in 2008 felt like an arrival moment, but he was never fully trusted by Arsene Wenger.

He went on to thrive at Real Sociedad before becoming an MLS legend with Los Angeles FC, registering 93 goals and 54 assists in 189 appearances. What could’ve been.

Serge Gnabry

One of Arsenal’s most infamous transfer mistakes remains selling Gnabry for peanuts.

We all know what he became at Bayern Munich, where he has scored over 100 goals, and there were clear opportunities for him at Arsenal. He made 18 appearances, scoring once in that beautiful yellow and blue kit against Swansea in 2013-14.

Despite his potential, Gnabry was deemed “not at the required level” by Tony Pulis during a loan spell at West Brom, and Wenger sold him to Werder Bremen for just £5m in 2016.

Bayern signed him for just €8m (£7m), and his Transfermarkt value peaked at €90m in 2020.