What Mikel Arteta said about Chido Obi as Manchester United debut moving closer

Chido Obi rejected a new contract at Arsenal in the summer and decided to join Manchester United in a surprising move.

Manchester United secured a great coup when they convinced youth starlet Chido Obi to join the club earlier this season.

Obi is one of the most exciting striker talents in Europe and was considered as the next player to reach Arsenal’s first-team before he made the decision to leave the North London club.

The teenager instead joined the Old Trafford club and signed professional terms on his 17th birthday in November.

He has been excelling in the Academy at United since then and has even been training with Rúben Amorim’s squad this week due to injuries.

There have been suggestions that Obi could be involved in United’s upcoming clash against Tottenham Hotspur, providing the opportunity for an early debut to reflect his status as one of the most promising prospects at the club.

What Arteta said about Obi

When Obi was at Arsenal, he was already in-and-around the first-team under Mikel Arteta despite only being 16 years of age.

The Arsenal boss was a huge fan of the Danish youth international and made sure he was aware of that.

Speaking during his time at the Emirates Stadium, Obi said: He (Arteta) just praises me all the time and says nice things, so it’s very nice.”

Of course, that wasn’t enough to keep him at the club and United took full advantage of the opportunity to sign the U18s Premier League leading goalscorer.

United staff will know if Obi is ready for debut

Obi quickly progressed into the Under-21s at United but some fans remain unsure whether he should be thrown into the first-team squad.

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It is no secret that Amorim’s side have been struggling and that isn’t the ideal situation for a young player to come into.

However, as fans we see very little of these Academy stars and so have to trust the likes of Amorim and Travis Binnion (U21s manager) to properly assess whether these players are ready.

No supporters expected Marcus Rashford to be prepared for first-team football when he de his surprising debut in 2016, for example.

Obi’s debut may have to wait, but if it comes in the next weeks, it will be because the staff at Old Trafford believe he is ready for it.

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