Who is Chido Obi-Martin? Arsenal wonderkid scores 10 vs Liverpool after Mikel Arteta call-up
During the period when Arsenal’s main team players were either engaged in training sessions or on international duty, focus shifted towards emerging talents from the academy, such as Chido Obi-Martin.
The young striker delivered an impressive performance, taking center stage as Arsenal’s under-16 team secured a notable 14-3 win against Liverpool’s youth squad.
While Obi-Martin has primarily been competing at the under-18 level this season, he remains eligible for the under-16s and temporarily joined them for a weekend when the older age group was not in competition.
Demonstrating his skill, the young striker showcased a remarkable performance by scoring 10 goals in the commanding triumph of the young Gunners.
This achievement may not be entirely unexpected for first-team manager Mikel Arteta, as the Spanish coach had already witnessed the goal-scoring prowess of the talented player.
Born in Denmark in 2007, Obi-Martin relocated to the UK as a teenager after drawing attention during his youth career in Copenhagen. Although he made two appearances in the under-18 Premier League last season, he has been more actively involved in the current season.
At the age of 15, Obi-Martin achieved his first under-18s hat-trick this season against Southampton and participated in Arsenal’s UEFA Youth League matches against Sevilla.
Despite the senior team securing victories against the Spanish opposition, the under-19 side managed only one point in their encounters, with Obi-Martin playing 45 minutes in each game without scoring.
In the interim between the Youth League games, the young talent received a call-up to the under-21 side, contributing 20 minutes in a successful outing against Brighton.
Impressively, he also trained with Arteta’s first-team players ahead of Sevilla’s visit to north London, although he ultimately did not make it into the matchday squad.
Arsenal supporters are well acquainted with Arteta’s inclination to trust in young talents. Last season, Ethan Nwaneri made his Premier League debut at just 15 years old, and interestingly, Obi-Martin won’t reach 16 until a few days after Arsenal’s upcoming league match.
Coincidentally, this upcoming game is against Brentford, the same fixture where Nwaneri made his debut. While there’s no indication that Obi-Martin will receive a similar opportunity immediately, even after his impressive 10-goal performance against Liverpool, he has already committed to a scholarship contract with the club.
On the international stage, Obi-Martin boasts an impressive record of seven goals in nine appearances for Denmark’s under-17 side. Four of those goals were scored in a decisive 6-2 win over a young Norwegian XI, and his most recent contribution came in a 2-2 draw against Austria in October.
Jesper Mikkelsen, Obi-Martin’s coach at the international under-17 level, shared insights into the youngster’s abilities in an interview with Bold in October.
. “Right now he is really dominant because of his physique, but I don’t think that is the only reason,” he said (via Tribal Football ).
“His greatest characteristic and challenge is that he really wants to score goals. When I say it can also be a disadvantage, I mean that he can sometimes play his own game. He is very searching for chances, where he forgets that you also have to play with the others.”
In addition to his eligibility to represent Denmark, Obi-Martin is also eligible to play for England, having already represented them at the under-16 level, or Nigeria through his father.
In remarks made in October, Kenneth Heiner-Moller, the head of talent at DBU (Danish Football Association), suggested that the young talent would not be rushed or pressured into making a commitment regarding his international future with the Danish national side.
“We have the approach at DBU that we will not try to convince anyone that they should play for the Danish national team,” Heiner-Moller said, per All Nigeria Soccer. “You have to want to. If you want to represent another country, that’s fine.
“When Chido was selected [for England under-16s], I had a talk with him and his father, where I said that ‘try and listen here, of course you have to try . You’ve lived in England for so long that I won’t talk you into anything. Let’s talk on the other side after you’ve left’.
“We will not take Chido out if he wants to play for England. But if he wants to play for Denmark, it would probably be a shame not to select him.”
Who is Chido Obi-Martin? Arsenal wonderkid scores 10 vs Liverpool after Mikel Arteta call-up
