Report: Arsenal now set to miss out on wonderkid as Manchester City close in

07/02/2024 12:15 PM

Arsenal are now set to miss out on the signing of a top English talent as Manchester City close in.

The Gunners already have a rich crop of homegrown talent, headlined by Bukayo Saka with the likes of Ethan Nwaneri emerging underneath the England international.

Now – however – Edu looks set to be thwarted by Manchester City as he attempts to bring another English wonderkid to Arsenal…

Manchester City set to beat Arsenal to Harrison Miles

A story from David Ornstein of The Athletic now reveals that Manchester City are closing in on the signing of Harrison Miles after his contract at Southampton expired.

Ornstein adds that Arsenal were also targeting the England U16 captain – who is just 15 and has already played for Southampton’s U21 side – but an agreement for the teenager to move to the Etihad Stadium is close.

The midfielder – who can also play in the centre of defence – made 11 appearances in all competitions last season, scoring two goals.

While Miles will technically be joining Manchester City on a free transfer, the Citizens will need to pay Southampton a compensation fee, although this figure is yet to be disclosed.

Mikel Arteta and Edu needn’t worry

While it would have been a coup for Arsenal to sign the England U16 captain for free, Mikel Arteta needn’t worry given the level of talent currently at Hale End.

To provide one example of another central midfielder Arsenal can focus on instead of Miles across pre-season, Myles Lewis-Skelly has been delivering some outstanding performance in the youth ranks.

The Evening Standard even state that people inside Arsenal believe the 17-year-old could eventually step into Oleksandr Zinchenko’s inverted left-back role, with others at the Emirates Stadium comparing him to Mousa Dembele, given his ability to drive forward powerfully with the ball.

READ MORE: Jorginho has privately told Mikel Arteta he should sign £40m player for Arsenal

There is – of course – the aforementioned Nwaneri as well, so Arteta is hardly short of wonderkids to develop at Arsenal, to say the least.