Man City land teenage midfielder Mishel Nduka with reported £20,000-a-week offer after Arsenal exit

Manchester City have persuaded highly rated teenager Mishel Nduka to leave Arsenal’s academy by offering the 16-year-old a deal worth a reported £20,000 per week.

The England youth international, who is of Nigerian descent, had been widely expected to sign a scholarship with Arsenal this summer. However, when the Premier League champions confirmed their latest intake of scholars this week, his name was missing from the list of nine teenagers who signed two-year agreements.

Instead, Nduka has agreed scholarship terms with Manchester City and is set to continue his development in the club’s academy, with a first professional contract expected to follow once he turns 17 in April 2027.

Financial package key to decision
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According to the Daily Mail, City’s offer includes wages of £20,000 a week, which equates to around £1m per year – approximately ₦1.8 billion annually. That financial package is understood to have been central to Nduka’s decision to reject Arsenal and move to the Etihad Stadium.

The move underlines how highly City rate the young midfielder, who will join one of the most competitive youth set-ups in Europe as he attempts to progress towards senior football.

Arsenal disappointment after Hale End spell
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Nduka’s departure comes less than a year after he joined Arsenal’s Hale End Academy from Charlton Athletic in September 2025.

During his brief time with the Gunners, the midfielder was fast-tracked through the age groups. He made 10 appearances in the U18 Premier League in his final season as a schoolboy and also featured in Premier League 2 and the UEFA Youth League.

Those outings at under-21 and European youth level reflected the regard in which Arsenal’s coaching staff held him and had fuelled expectations he would commit his long-term future to the club with a scholarship.

Instead, his development will now continue in Manchester, where City’s structured pathway and lucrative terms have combined to tempt him away from north London.

Nwaneri commits future to Arsenal

There was some offsetting good news for Arsenal’s academy, with fellow midfielder Emerson Nwaneri deciding to remain at the club.

Nwaneri, also of Nigerian descent, had been heavily linked with a departure from the Emirates Stadium and was widely reported to be considering a move away. However, he has now reversed that stance by accepting Arsenal’s offer of a scholarship contract.

The contrasting decisions of Nduka and Nwaneri highlight the intense competition between elite Premier League academies for emerging talent, as leading clubs seek to secure the most promising youngsters at an increasingly early stage in their careers.