Arteta discusses how Arsenal chooses to promote players into their first team

Arsenal's academy is widely regarded as one of the best in the world and consistently produces talented players who can eventually break into the first team. The club understands the importance of allowing its young players to gain valuable experience by traveling with the senior squad during pre-season tours. This exposure enables them to prove their readiness for the challenges of playing in the highest level of football.

Youngsters like Bukayo Saka and Myles Lewis-Skelly, who were both developed through the academy, have shown that Arsenal can successfully promote talented academy graduates to the first team, although securing a regular starting spot remains a difficult task.

Breaking into the senior team is a significant challenge for any young player, and those who manage to progress to that level deserve a great deal of credit. Players such as Saka exemplify the potential of academy graduates who make the leap to the senior squad. He will have the opportunity to observe and evaluate other promising young players who receive chances to follow a similar development path.

While there is no definitive formula for determining when an academy player is ready for a promotion, the club places great importance on the individual's quality and the timing and needs of the first team. Arteta elaborated on how Arsenal assesses the readiness of academy players for the senior team, stating, "It comes, I think, with the quality you have in the academy, and some days it’s just a generation that can fit in at the right moment.

It’s about timing as well, the needs that you have." The club's primary objective is to provide academy players with the opportunity to showcase their abilities and achieve the level they are capable of reaching. So far, the progress made by Saka and other young talents has been highly impressive.