Arsenal and Manchester United corner flags (Photo by Ryan Pierse, Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Manchester United are reportedly advancing on a transfer swoop for Arsenal youngster Ayden Heaven.
Posting on X, Fabrizio Romano has reported that Man Utd look the clear favourites to snap up the talented 18-year-old, in what could be a big blow for the Gunners.
Arsenal have promoted a number of talents from their academy in recent years, with Bukayo Saka establishing himself as a star player for the club, while Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly have impressed this season.
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Still, it seems United look set to lure Heaven away from the Emirates Stadium, according to this latest update from Italian journalist Romano…
?? Manchester United, advancing on deal to sign Ayden Heaven from Arsenal.
They’re clear favorites as exclusively revealed
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 28, 2025
Only time will tell if this ends up being the right choice for Heaven, who would surely have got a chance to make the step up at Arsenal if he’d been patient.
Mikel Arteta has shown he’s willing to trust and develop young players, but United also have a proud history of bringing in players from their academy or elsewhere and developing them into first-teamers.
Arsenal wanted to keep Ayden Heaven
As Charles Watts told us yesterday, Arsenal had an offer on the table to Heaven and hoped to keep him, as he’s highly regarded by the club.
Still, it looks like their efforts to keep the teenager will ultimately be unsuccessful, with Romano very rarely wrong on major transfer stories like this.
United also signed Chido Obi-Martin from AFC in the summer, and will surely be excited to be closing in on another top prospect from such a strong academy.
Even those who haven’t quite made it as regulars for Arsenal have gone on to have decent Premier League careers, such as Emile Smith Rowe, Eddie Nketiah, Reiss Nelson and Alex Iwobi.
Arsenal can be proud of the players they’re producing, and not all of them will be able to stay and fight it out when there’s so much competition in Arteta’s squad.
