Arsenal wonderkids that didn’t make it and where they are now, including Merida, Bentley, Aliadiere and more
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ARSENAL's current crop of homegrown talents are being heralded, and rightly so.
The likes of Reiss Nelson, Joe Willock and Emile Smith Rowe have got Gunners fans optimistic for the future after starring in the first team and looking the business.
But hold your horses. We've been here before, of course, when a fledgling talent has been expected to reach the top.
These seven youngsters failed to set Highbury and the Emirates Stadium alight, and should act as a cautionary tale.
One of them remarkably beat Barcelona legend Luis Figo to a major award once upon a time...
FRAN MERIDA
Plucked from Barcelona's youth academy, Arsene Wenger said the Spanish midfielder was an "absolutely amazing player."
He was even called Fabregas 2.0 in some quarters for his playmaking qualities and final ball.
And it started well for Merida when he scored on his debut in a preseason friendly against Boreham Wood in 2006.
But from 2007-10, he made just 16 first team appearances, and decided to seek pastures new.
After refusing a new contract with the North London giants, he signed on a free transfer for Atletico Madrid.
Two years later Merida found himself in the Spanish second division playing for Hercules, and then in Brazil's top division playing for Atletico Paranaense.
In 2016 he returned to the Spanish top division with Osasuna, where he currently plies his trade.
DAVID BENTLEY
The 'next David Beckham', Bentley turned out to be a flash in the pan for club and country.
An attacking midfielder and devilish set-piece taker, in 2004 he announced himself with a Bergkamp-esque lob against Middlesbrough in the FA Cup in 2004.
But in truth, he struggled to break into a team that boasted 'Invincibles' like Robert Pires, Freddie Ljungberg, and Jose Antonio Reyes.
Frustrated by the lack of first team opportunities, Bentley went to Blackburn where highlights included scoring a hat-trick against Man Utd in a 4-3 win, as well as being named Rovers' player of the year.
His form meant he earned seven caps for England between 2006-08, before a move to Tottenham followed.
However, he believes he was frozen out by Harry Redknapp after drenching his boss with an ice bucket during a TV interview. Pun intended.
He retired from the game at the age of 29 after his love for football waned, opened up a series of restaurants in Essex and Spain, and started a flooring company.
JIM WILL
In the 1990s, trying to dislodge Arsenal and England's No.1 David Seaman was a tough ask.
That's why you've probably never ever heard of Jim Will, even if you are a Gooner.
But the Scottish shot-stopper was thought of as one of the best goalies in the world when he was a teen.
And Will showed his credentials at the 1989 FIFA Under-16 Championships as he helped Scotland reach the final.
Conceding just three goals, his performances earned him the Golden Ball trophy for best player - incredibly beating future Ballon d'Or winner Luis Figo to the award.
After failing to get picked ahead of Seaman, Will moved to Dunfermline in 1994 and his career petered out.
Now 46, he's reportedly a policeman.
JERMAINE PENNANT
Signed by Wenger for £2m at the tender age of 15 from Notts County, a then record fee for a teenager, Pennant was thought of as the next big thing in English football.
Again, Pennant was another that couldn't get first team football ahead of Pires and Ljungberg, who were Arsenal's first-choice wingers.
But Gunners fans will remember one standout performance against Southampton when he scored a hat-trick in a 6-1 win.
However, Pennant's attitude off the pitch was questionable - and he often found himself on the front pages of the papers for his party lifestyle.
Wenger reportedly lost patience with Pennant for repeatedly turning up late for training, and soon he was shipped out to Birmingham for £3.5m.
Under Rafa Benitez, Pennant appeared to rediscover his form at Liverpool in 2006, but that was short-lived and he was given a free transfer in 2009.
Somewhat of a journeyman, he played for the likes of Real Zaragoza, Stoke, and Billericay Town before becoming a reality TV star on Celebrity Big Brother.
QUINCY OWUSU-ABEYIE
Armed with a bag of tricks, wide-man 'Quincy' as he was more affectionately known by the Gooners, seemingly had the world at his feet.
He was schooled first by Ajax, before moving to North London at the age of 16 in 2002 after the Dutch club reportedly released him for alleged attitude problems.
Immediately, Owusu-Abeyie impressed in Arsenal's under-17 side - scoring 17 goals in 20 games, including six in one match against Wolves.
He had an eventful debut in the League Cup against Rotherham United in 2003, first having a hand in getting goalie Mike Pollitt sent off for deliberate handball, then missing a penalty in a shootout Arsenal won.
But when Arsenal bought Emmanuel Adebayor and Theo Walcott in the 2006 January transfer window to compliment a forward-line that already included Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp, he knew he had to move on.
Owusu-Abeyie transferred to Spartak Moscow, then had loans in Spain in England, before trying his hand in Qater with Al-Sadd, then returning to Europe with Panathinaikos.
Now 33, he was last seen playing for Dutch third division club NEC Nijmegen, who released him in 2017.
JEREMIE ALIADIERE
A graduate of the brilliant Clairefontaine academy, head coach Claude Dusseau believed that Aliadiere was the best striker alongside Henry and Nicolas Anelka to come through their ranks.
He arrived at Highbury at the age of 16 with that weight on his shoulders and showed promise early doors.
Aliadiere made his debut in the 2001-02 season, coming on for Henry in a 4-1 victory against Fulham.
He scored his first goal the following season in a 5-2 demolition of West Brom.
While in the 2003-04 season, Aliadiere was used as the main striker in a League Cup run that saw him score four times, and get voted the best young talent in that tournament.
However, he was ruled out for the whole of 2004-05 with a knee injury, and failed to re-discover his form.
Spells at West Ham, Wolves and Middlesbrough didn't quite pan out until he returned back to France at Lorient, where he enjoyed some success but not what his early promise seemed he was destined for.
Recently retired, Aliadiere, 36, now does some media work and appears for Arsenal's Legends side.
RYAN SMITH
Smith graduated from the Arsenal conveyor belt alongside foreign talents Cesc Fabregas and Gael Clichy.
Wenger once crowed of the boy wonder: "He has so many ingredients that you love to have when you're a young player," and revealed he was adamant his protege had a big future in the game.
But the boyhood Arsenal fan and flying winger suffered a cruel fate that robbed him of his future.
In a reserve match against Ipswich Town in 2004, he wrecked his knee - a cruciate ligament rupture, as well as a double micro-fracture which resulted in four key-hole surgeries left Smith in agony.
Weeks later he was told by Arsenal physio Gary Lewin that the injury was so severe that a life in football after the age of 26 was highly unlikely.
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Smith bounced around clubs including Leicester City, Southampton and MLS club Sporting Kansas City.
Alongside playing, Smith began a music career and recorded a single with fellow professional footballer Neil Danns.
His career is a classic case of what could've been.
