Teenage striker Chido Obi-Martin made waves on social media final season by scoring objective after objective for Arsenal’s youth groups, however after turning down the prospect to signal his first skilled contract with the Gunners this summer time, he has chosen to proceed his profession at Manchester United as a substitute.
The switch took a very long time to occur as compensation needed to be agreed as a result of he’s nonetheless simply 16 years previous and the Premier League needed to ratify the transfer, however Obi-Martin will now take the following step of his profession at Previous Trafford — initially with the under-18s, earlier than seeking to make the transfer as much as the primary workforce.
What will we find out about him? Screenshots of his exploits did the rounds final season as followers marvelled at what number of occasions his identify appeared on the scoresheet. Obi-Martin hit the headlines as he scored 10 targets on his personal in an unimaginable 14-3 win over Liverpool’s U16s final November; then, between the beginning of March and the top of Might, he netted 28 targets in 10 video games within the U18 Premier League.
However what are United getting, and Arsenal dropping, exterior his prolific objective scoring? We requested two individuals who have seen him play: ESPN’s Tor-Kristian Karlsen, a former scout and chief government, and in addition knowledgeable coach who works with gamers from academy to Champions League stage, who agreed to talk on the situation of anonymity due to the age of the participant.
Background
Born within the suburbs of Denmark’s capital, Copenhagen, to a Danish mom and Nigerian father, Obi-Martin moved to England in 2020. Although he had stood out at youth stage for membership facet FC Copenhagen, the household’s relocation was the results of the then-13-year-old and his youthful brother Chuck becoming a member of his mom for a 12 months or two in London whereas she was learning to develop into a nurse. These preliminary plans have been quickly altered when Arsenal provided him phrases for a scholarship in 2022.
Obi-Martin’s impression within the Arsenal academy (throughout 5 age teams, we would add) has been extraordinary. He famously hit the online 10 occasions towards Liverpool in a 14-3 win for the U16s, and he scored 32 targets in 18 video games for Arsenal’s U18s final season towards gamers usually two or three years his senior.
On the worldwide stage, Obi-Martin was nominated for UEFA’s Crew of the Match on the U17 European Championship finals whereas enjoying for Denmark earlier in the summertime. He can select to play for the senior groups of Denmark, Nigeria or England sooner or later.
Signing with the Elite Undertaking Group company — which additionally represents the likes of Folarin Balogun, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka — earlier this 12 months, Obi-Martin’s profile has risen significantly, to the purpose the place he has a boot take care of Adidas and over 200,000 followers on Instagram. However he will be unable to signal his first skilled membership contract in England till his seventeenth birthday in November.
Model
Evaluation of Obi-Martin’s sport begins with the obviously apparent: At 6-foot-2, he has a bodily benefit over his friends. It is one factor to have a bodily benefit; it is one other factor to make use of it correctly. However he has nailed it, turning his bodily benefit into one thing harmful for the opposition to cope with.
“There’s little doubt that he has taken full benefit of his early developed physique at academy stage,” Karlsen says. “A good chunk of his targets originate from him operating on to deep passes. He beats the offside line with a wonderful sense of timing; his off-the-ball motion is excellent.”
One specific transfer, when he seems to be to make a motion off the surface of the centre-back, receiving the ball in stride after which both bursting via or baiting the defender right into a problem that he can shift previous, is especially spectacular. However whereas he will get himself into goal-scoring positions, he has additionally proven a capability to transform these alternatives too.
“From a plethora of eye-catching expertise, it is the calmness of his ending that stands out,” Karlsen says. “Not like most of his friends, Obi-Martin is never in a rush in entrance of objective. Fairly than responding to the pure rush of blood with a untimely effort, he maps out the optimum ending alternative he can obtain from the state of affairs.
“In the meanwhile of execution he additionally tends to keep away from the urge to do one thing flamboyant, as he picks the appropriate spot — typically with a measured, curled end with the surface of his boot.”
That end from Martin Obi 😮💨
📺 Sit again and benefit from the highlights of our emphatic 8-1 win towards West Ham United 👇
— Arsenal Academy (@ArsenalAcademy) April 14, 2024
The Champions League-level coach additionally pinpointed Obi-Martin’s capacity to complete “in rhythm,” establishing a shot with one contact, then pulling the set off in what appears like a single easy movement. That is an indication of a participant who’s properly balanced and comfy manipulating the ball; whereas it may well additionally catch goalkeepers off guard as they may not be set to make a save as a result of they don’t seem to be anticipating a shot to return so quick.
Obi-Martin’s power ranges and defensive work price look good, whereas he is ready to maintain up the ball when required, so it is simple to see him as the focus of an attacking trio, which is how the vast majority of high golf equipment function as of late.
Each in type and treasured expertise, Obi-Martin has been likened to Borussia Dortmund’s Youssoufa Moukoko. The Germany worldwide scored 127 targets in simply 84 appearances at youth stage for the membership, resulting in him being fast-tracked to the primary workforce at age 15, breaking a number of information within the course of. However within the 4 years since, Moukoko has sadly been unable to copy his early kind, exhibiting simply how robust it’s to make the step up.
How he can enhance
Nobody expects a 16-year-old to be the completed article, and there are actually a few areas to work on within the quick time period.
“Not uncommonly for teenage strikers, his aerial method can nonetheless be polished,” Karlsen says. “Though his mere top and bodily presence nonetheless render him a risk from crosses and set items.”
The Champions League-level coach says: “It is really easy for him proper now, but it surely will not at all times be.” Certainly, he hopes to see Obi-Martin study to adapt his sport rapidly. At the next stage, he’ll see much less of the ball, the defenders will likely be stronger, faster and capable of match him bodily. He’ll want to realize a higher appreciation for the altering tempo and rhythm of the sport.
Karlsen doubles down on that: “As he comes up towards skilled, bodily stronger opponents, then extra refined, coordinated workforce strikes will likely be required; the ‘Acquire the ball and outrun the defenders’ recipe is unlikely to generate the identical impact.”
In quotes
“Whenever you take a look at Chido, he would not seem like somebody who hasn’t turned 16 but. To begin with, he has a physique that’s actually advantageous as a soccer participant,” Denmark U17 boss Jesper Mikkelsen instructed Daring final 12 months. “He’s massive and robust, however he’s additionally moderately agile. He’s good at sticking to the sport, however he’s truly additionally good at difficult and dribbling himself.”
“We’ve one thing referred to as ‘various sports activities’ each Monday the place we do a distinct sport — it might be avenue or seaside soccer, basketball or hockey,” Anders Lange, FC Copenhagen’s head of youngsters’s soccer, instructed The Athletic in March. “It is good for his or her coordination to do different sports activities and Chido was good at most of them. With him, if you happen to take a look at his superb method, it won’t be the best, however he is at all times had a great shot and been a great dribbler.”
Who else was linked?
Bayern Munich confirmed an curiosity as soon as it turned clear that Obi-Martin was not going to signal a brand new contract with Arsenal, whereas Dortmund have been additionally eager.
What’s subsequent?
Now that the deal it accomplished, Obi-Martin will settle into the youth setup — in any case, he will not flip 17 till November. It isn’t typically gamers of this age make such high-profile strikes, so he may have time to regulate to the standing and a spotlight it has introduced.
From there, it is about impressing and transferring up the ranks. United have historically been a improbable launchpad for younger forwards — the likes of Wayne Rooney, Alejandro Garnacho, Marcus Rashford, Danny Welbeck — so he needs to be in good palms.
There’s additionally the intriguing addition of Ruud van Nistelrooy to United’s first-team teaching employees this summer time. The legendary striker, who scored 150 targets for the membership — in addition to greater than 50 for every of Actual Madrid and PSV Eindhoven too — might certainly train Obi-Martin a factor or two about objective scoring. And which will assist his possibilities of making it into the Manchester United first workforce within the coming years.
