Arsenal have long been a club that prides itself on producing incredibly gifted youth products.
The North Londoners may not have an academy of the same caliber as La Masia, but in England, few are better and have a more storied history than Hale End.
Some of the academy's alumni include Irish icon Liam Brady, who regularly amazed fans in the 1970s; David O'Leary, who remains the club's all-time leading appearance maker; David Rocastle, who remains an iconic figure to this day; and even Jack Wilshere, who couldn't reach his full potential but was an outrageously gifted midfielder.
Moreover, Bukayo Saka is now carrying the torch today and has established himself as one of the best players in England, although he was actually outscored by a former Arsenal ace last season.
Saka's 23/24
Now, Saka was under a lot of pressure going into last season, although not because he had underperformed the previous campaign, but quite the opposite.
The Englishman ended 22/23 with an impressive tally of 15 goals and 11 assists in 38 appearances, so there was now an expectation that he would go again the following year, and while many other players would've faltered under that pressure, the Hale Ender thrived.
In his 47 games for the North Londoners last year, the "incredible" winger, as talent scout Jacek Kulig dubbed him, scored a mammoth 20 goals and provided 14 assists, meaning that he averaged a goal involvement once every 1.38 games.
Even though he couldn't fire the Gunners to the title, he looks set to try and rectify that this season. However, as incredible as the young Englishman was in 22/23, he was outscored by a former Arsenal player he used to line up alongside not too long ago.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
The former Arsenal player in question is goalscoring machine Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who joined the North Londoners for a club record fee of around £60m in January 2018.
The Gabonese marksman was an instant success in red and white, becoming the fastest player in the club's history to score 50 Premier League goals, doing so in just 97 matches.
His importance to the team was undeniable, and in November 2019, he was named captain following Granit Xhaka's infamous outburst at home to Crystal Palace and after playing a significant role in the club's unlikely FA Cup success at the end of the season, he was given a new bumper contract worth around £350k-per-week. However, things would soon start to go wrong.
First, the goals dried up, and then his conduct was questioned, resulting in him losing the captaincy in December 2021 and being moved on to Barcelona the following month for nothing.
However, despite scoring 13 goals and providing one assist in 24 matches, he was sold to Chelsea the following summer, where he lost home and away against his old club and was roundly booed at the Emirates.
Following his disastrous time in West London, the striker Gary Neville, once dubbed "world-class", moved back to Ligue 1 to play for Marseille, and to say he got back to his best would be an understatement.
In 51 games for Les Phoceens, the former Gunners captain found the back of the net on 30 occasions and provided 11 assists to boot, meaning that he averaged a goal involvement once every 1.24 games.
Appearances
51
47
Goals
30
20
Assists
11
14
Goal Involvements per Match
0.80
0.72
The 35-year-old has since joined Saudi Pro League side Al-Qadsiah, but based on his form last year, it's evident that in the right environment, he can still thrive in a top-five league.
Ultimately, Arsenal still made the right decision to move on from Aubameyang when they did, as it set a precedent and helped establish a culture that has since served them well, but it would have been great to see what the talented striker could have done alongside Saka last season.
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