Arsenal youngster posts farewell ahead of Manchester City transfer

Mishel Nduka effectively confirmed his Arsenal exit over the weekend, posting a short message on Instagram to say: “Thank you ❤️. @arsenal”

David Ornstein had reported for The Athletic in July that Manchester City had reached an agreement to sign Nduka, with the player turning down a new deal to stay at Arsenal.

The 16-year-old will join City on scholarship terms, with a professional contract to follow. Ornstein added that Arsenal had offered Nduka a ‘highly competitive’ long-term contract, but it seems that wasn’t enough.

Isaan Khan had reported for the Daily Mail earlier that same month that Nduka was set to sign for City, less than a year after joining the Gunners from Charlton Athletic.

Youth contracts are only short term, so the Gunners were already in a position of needing to extend his deal again.

With older players, a big transfer fee would usually be accompanied by a long contract, avoiding these kinds of scenarios. But that’s not possible in academy football, for good reason. A 14-year-old shouldn’t be signing away half a decade of their young footballing career.

Yet Nduka won’t be leaving for free, as Arsenal will still receive compensation given the player’s young age.

That’s likely the reason why the move took so long to complete, with these compensation deals often going to tribunals. The Gunners are in a similar saga pushing to sign Vincent Joseph from Liverpool.

16-year-old Nduka made 10 appearances for the Arsenal u18s in 2025/26, as well as making his UEFA Youth League debut and making a couple of appearances for the u21s in the Premier League 2.

There can be no suggestions that Arsenal didn’t give the youngster chances way above his age group, but it wasn’t enough to convince him to stay.

The player also made seven appearances for the England u16s, having previously been involved with the u15s, with the national team recognising his progress at club level.