Charlie Patino is currently on loan at Swansea City (Picture: Getty)
Arsenal are reportedly set to lose their wonderkid Charlie Patino in the summer transfer window after Mikel Arteta made a U-turn over his future.
Patino scored on his debut for Arsenal in a Carabao Cup quarter-final win over Sunderland and was highly regarded in the club’s youth set-up.
The England U21 midfielder has previously been named as one of the best young players emerging from Premier League clubs’ academies by The Guardian.
His style of play is thought to be similar to former Arsenal stars Santi Cazorla and Cesc Fabregas while some fans have described him as the ‘next Frenkie De Jong’.
Patino spent last season on loan at Blackpool while this term he has been sent out to fellow Championship side Swansea to build up his experience.
As recently as October, Arteta told Patino that he had a chance of forcing his way into the Arsenal first team.
But the Arsenal manager appears to have made a U-turn with the Evening Standard now reporting that Arteta is expected to sanction Patino’s exit this summer.
Mikel Arteta is set to sanction Charlie Patino’s exit (Picture: Getty)
Clubs in Spain are thought to interested in the 20-year-old and he would avoid post-Brexit transfer issues as he holds a Spanish passport through his father.
It is not clear exactly which teams in La Liga are keeping tabs on Patino but several English stars – including Jude Bellingham and Mason Greenwood – have made recent switches over to Spain and have impressed in their top league.
Patino will have just one year left on his Arsenal contract this summer with the Gunners keen to cash-in so he does not depart the Emirates on a free transfer.
Charlie Patino scored on his Arsenal debut in 2021 (Picture: Getty)
Patino’s former coach George Duke has previously compared the Arsenal youngster to Livepool star Thiago Alcantara.
‘The first time I saw Charlie and he came over I knew he was going to have some talent,’ he said. ‘But the thing that comes to mind with Charlie would be one word and that’s calm.
‘He’s so relaxed on the ball. When he’s just doing kick-ups, touch work, everything is just so relaxed and calm.
Mikel Arteta’s U-turn explained
Mikel Arteta appears to have made a U-turn over Charlie Patino amid suggestions he will now sanction an exit this summer.
Speaking as recently as October, the Arsenal manager told his player: ‘There is always a pathway.
‘When we make decisions on those kind of players it is always to keep an eye on them and see if we can evolve the squad in a way. The first thing we do is look at what we have internally.’
‘That’s the word I’d use 100 per cent for Charlie and people will see that the more he plays.
‘You’ll see how relaxed he is on the ball, you won’t see him panicking or anything like that.
‘One player I’d compare him to when I speak to people is Thiago at Liverpool. When he receives the ball it’s really unique and I think Charlie’s got some of that in his game in terms of his calmness and all-round game.’
Charlie Patino has been tipped to follow Bukayo Saka’s footsteps (Picture: Getty)
Rio Ferdinand, meanwhile, previously said Patino may be the best player to ever to come out of the Hale End academy, which produced superstar Bukayo Saka.
‘Go on YouTube and watch his clips. It’s a joke what you see, the talent he’s got,’ Ferdinand said back in 2022.
‘I’ve spoken to people at Arsenal and what they say about him in terms of this kid, talent-wise, could potentially be the best of the lot that’s come out in recent years.
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‘It’s a huge bar, but this kid has the talent and the big, big part of him is his mentality.
‘When you talk to anybody who knows him, mentally, he doesn’t get carried away, doesn’t get too low, doesn’t get too high, very balanced kid, but has all the fundamentals in his game to really go to the top of the tree.
‘This kid is the next. I just feel, when you watch him, there’s a beautiful way he plays, the balance, the rhythm, the fans will enjoy watching him.’
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