David Ornstein’s surprise exclusive on Monday morning sent certain sections of the Arsenal fan base into meltdown, but is Charlie Patino making the right decision to leave Arsenal?
For the last couple of years, Patino has been heralded as the next gem to come off the Hale End conveyor belt, as he shone at youth level with his ability to control games from the number six position.
This season he has had a mixed time at Blackpool, which ended in the team being relegated after numerous managerial changes.
In the first half of the season, Patino shone in a double six pivot under Michael Appleton, with the team playing a much more possession based game, where his technical quality could flourish.
Appleton’s sacking led to the unpopular appointment of Mick McCarthy, who’s long ball football bypassed the midfield and effectively led to Patino scrapping for every ball and his technical abilities being overlooked.
Between the pair, Patino has managed to develop the physical and positional side of his game, which was something that looked a long way off when he made his only Arsenal start against Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup last season.
The gametime has clearly given Patino the desire to play, and no one truly believes he will get regular football at Arsenal, even if he is incredibly talented.
Unfortunately, that is the one drawback of being a title challenging team. Opportunities for young players are simply not as prevalent, and there are unpopular casualties along the way.
With Arsenal targeting Rice or Caicedo, and Mason Mount, those opportunities will be even tougher to come by, and if he is adament he is unwilling to go on another loan deal, a permanent deal with two years left on his contract is logical.
However, Arsenal need to insert a buy back. Man City did it with Lavia, and has protected themselves from overpaying if they want their young star back, and Arsenal have to do the same here.
Patino could develop next season and become a young star. Or it could take three years, and he could fizzle out as many young talents have done. We just don’t know at this moment in time.
But, the one thing that we do know is that Arsenal need to give themselves the option to bring him back for a low fee if he reaches the levels expected, and that may mean we have to take a lower fee than people would expect this summer.
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