For a 17-year-old with no senior appearances to his name, there is already plenty of hype around Chido Obi, the BBC reported, yesterday. On Wednesday, Arsenal fans on social media were lamenting the one that got away as soon as reports of Kai Havertz’s potentially season-ending injury began to circulate.
Manchester United fans, meanwhile, are asking if the teenager – who has a record 41 goals at Premier League U-18 level – could fill the gap left by Marcus Rashford.

“He would have been in the Arsenal first team if he had stayed,” lamented an Arsenal YouTuber to his 22,800 followers on X. “This would have been his season to shine as a first-team striker,” said another popular Arsenal fan account.

This season Obi has 12 goals in nine FA Youth Cup and Under-18 league matches, and his strike-rate and style are generating noise across two rival fanbases.

And hours after the news of Havertz’s injury emerged, Obi scored a clinical hat-trick in a 5-1 FA Youth Cup win over Chelsea, at Leigh Sports Village. Next up, Arsenal in the quarter-finals.

United manager Ruben Amorim was cautious when asked directly about Obi before last weekend’s victory over Leicester, given the shortage of goals and attacking options in his squad. “He’s doing his job,” said the Portuguese. “He’s improving and playing in the youth teams. We will see at the end of the season.”

As Sporting boss, Amorim gave Geovany Quenda his senior debut in August, just over three months after his 17th birthday. And Old Trafford has a long, rich history of blooding 17 and even 16-year-olds – including Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho in the current squad.

Watching Obi in the flesh, first against Preston last month, and then against Chelsea, showed the striker has plenty of positive attributes. He is tall, strong, athletic – and rapid.

https://guardian.ng/saturday-magazine/high-society/chido-obi-special-arsenal-academy-striker-makes-waves-at-man-u/