Arsenal are reportedly fighting tooth and nail to keep one of their highest-rated attackers at the club amid fears that he could soon walk out of the door.
Sixteen-year-old Chido Obi Martin made headlines around Europe when he scored a phenomenal 10 goals in one game against Liverpool last November, while playing for the Under-16s.
The Danish-born attacker has since continued to make nets bulge at an astonishing rate at Under-18 level, coming up with a staggering 29 goals in just 17 games in the top flight this season.
Obi Martin is unsurprisingly by far and away the highest scorer in the 2023-24 Under-18 Premier League, and he has taken home a plethora of match balls, notching three or more goals on five occasions.
On April 27, the teenager scored seven of Arsenal's goals in a 9-0 annihilation of Norwich City, exactly two weeks after scoring five times in an 8-1 crushing of West Ham United.
Obi Martin has also registered four-goal hauls against Crystal Palace and Fulham while striking a hat-trick against Southampton, and he has scored in each of his last eight matches in the Under-18 Premier League.
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Obi Martin 'shares same agents as two Arsenal graduates'
A Denmark Under-17 international, the 6ft 2in striker has already come up with eight goals in 12 appearances for his nation, having briefly turned out for England at Under-16 level.
However, Obi Martin is yet to agree scholarship terms with Arsenal, and clubs around Europe have naturally taken notice of the youngster's remarkable goalscoring talents ahead of a possible transfer this summer.
According to journalist Fabrizio Romano, though, Arsenal are pushing to tie their academy starlet down to a renewal, although he is not eligible to sign professional terms until he turns 17 in November.
The Gunners are believed to be in discussions with Obi Martin's agents Elite Project Group, who have also represented two other notable Arsenal Hale End graduates in Bukayo Saka and Folarin Balogun, as well as Manchester United's Jadon Sancho.
Arsenal are at risk of losing Obi Martin to foreign suitors, though, as the 16-year-old would be able to pen a professional contract with teams elsewhere in Europe before he turns 17 in six months' time.
Obi Martin plied his trade in the Copenhagen youth system until joining Arsenal in 2022, and he has also made two appearances for the Gunners' Under-21 side this season.
Ben Knapton
