Miguel Azeez’s lengthy association with Arsenal came to an end in February when he signed for Atletico Baleares.
Having made his senior debut against Dundalk in the Europa League in 2020, it was anticipated that the midfielder would go on to break into the first-team squad.
Questions have been raised about the way in which the youngster’s development was managed by Arsenal, with loan spells at Portsmouth, Ibiza and Wigan Athletic not going to plan.
Here’s an insight into the story behind Azeez’s departure from Arsenal and a look at how the situation was handled.
A player who progressed all the way through the ranks at the academy from the age of five, Azeez showed his loyalty to Arsenal by electing to sign a five-year contract in 2019, at a time when fellow midfielder Yunus Musah rejected a similar contract offer and left the club for Valencia.
Widely seen as an excellent prospect, Azeez often played above his age group for Arsenal at U18 and subsequently U23/U21 level, and started to become more involved with the first-team squad.
After a superb goal against Watford in pre-season in 2021 Azeez was seen as a potential candidate to make the breakthrough at Arsenal.
However, in August 2021 he was loaned to Portsmouth. Azeez played ten times and scored his first senior goal but he had informed Arsenal academy manager Per Mertesacker and then loans manager Ben Knapper prior to the move that he didn’t feel that Portsmouth would be the best club for his development. However, he decided to take Arsenal’s advice and went to Portsmouth.
Portsmouth boss Danny Cowley chose to put Azeez in the B team for the majority of the training sessions and didn’t appear to have faith in him.
Azeez was subsequently recalled in January 2022 and was loaned out again in September that year, this time linking up with Spanish club Ibiza. In a somewhat unusual turn of events, Ibiza had four different managers in the short time that Azeez was at the club, which meant that consistency was difficult to come by.
A third loan followed in January 2023, with Azeez joining Championship club Wigan Athletic, who were managed by Kolo Toure, with Kevin Betsy, Azeez’s former Arsenal youth coach, as his assistant. Toure and Betsy were dismissed soon afterwards, with Shaun Maloney taking charge.
Maloney immediately cut Azeez out of the squad and didn’t give him a look in despite some of the Wigan players being baffled by the decision considering the Arsenal loanee was consistently training well.
There were reports that Azeez’s father Femi confronted Maloney about the youngster’s lack of playing time after a game against Reading, with Wigan having been relegated to League One.
The reports were totally inaccurate, with Azeez’s father having never spoken to Maloney. Azeez’s brother (also called Femi, who plays for Reading) had spoken to Maloney, but they shook hands afterwards.
There is a feeling that Arsenal could have handled Azeez’s development better and that he could have thrived if he had been given an opportunity in the first-team.
After 16 years at the club, there was no farewell for Azeez as he joined Atletico Baleares, where he signed a six-month contract. He had been offered a contract extension by Arsenal last year but turned it down as he didn’t feel he would receive sufficient opportunities.
An inside source stated that Mertesacker said he would not help Azeez find another club due to him having not extended his contract by another year.
Azeez went into Arsenal’s London Colney training ground before the transfer window shut and put all his possessions in one big black bag as he left the club feeling totally dejected.
Despite having received much hype from an early age, Azeez has remained level-headed and consistent in his attitude. He is eager to impress in Spain and rebuild his confidence following the events of the last two years and will hopefully push on from there.
Jeorge Bird's Arsenal Youth 
I can’t thank you enough for such an insightful report, Jeorge. Something’s been rotten in the state of Arsenal Academy since Mertesacker took over … at least now, we have something to substantiate that gnawing feeling.Reading this, I couldn’t help but think of 2 other lads – at least – who were lured to Hale End before being treated like some spoiled brat’s discarded toys. The first is Ben Cottrell who was sent to the professional football equivalent of a Siberian gulag (I mean no disrespect to glorious Slovenia and its wonderful people, I’m focusing on professional football, and what I’ve just written, in that context, is nothing but the naked truth). The other, of course, is Charlie Patino, and the way we let such a scintillating talent fade away in a dysfunctional club, under the rule of yet another incompetent manager.You did well too, to remind us how “old” Miguel was when he became a Gooner. May Miguel’s story remind everyone who cares for this club, that demanding these boys to be at the top of their game right after being kicked out by their boyhood club, is like asking abused children to become happy-go-lucky adults … Arsenal has become an integral part of lifelong Arsenal fans'”persona”, but for kids like Miguel, Arsenal-is/was-their-life, period, and to get over such abuse right away, if ever, would require from these boys a strength of will, of character, that most of those who approve of their being rejected by the club, can’t even dream of having the beginning of.Between Ainsley, Joe, Reiss, Emile, Charlie, Brooke, Eddie, Folarin, and … Miguel, we must have something like a century of combined presence at the club, countless caps for England youth teams, and even a few England caps (Ainsley, Emile, …) – but we should rejoice in their demise, pretend they’re not even good enough to be backups, that we’ll be better off with any Joorabchian and/or Mendes’s I-don’t-know-how-many-million-pounds creature. How did we come this far, I can’t stop wondering.The future will tell us if there was a method in this mad spell in the history of the Arsenal Academy. At least I wish there were, and if I had to guess, I’d say all the kids who’ve been the management’s sacrificial lambs lately, have been used as examples to establish a brand new balance of power with young British players’ agents who, because of the homegrown player rule, have felt in a position to negotiate (let’s be honest) insane wages (which means an insane cut for them, of course) for players who still had everything to prove at top-level.Time will tell … but that’d be no excuse anyway, imo. However much it pains me to write this, Miguel’s story is evidence that there are people making decisions in this club we love, who show as little respect for human beings, as mobsters do. Having said that, it looks like Miguel has a very supportive family, and what I can only hope is that their togetherness will help the kid pick himself up, before proving all his doubters wrong.In the meantime, thanks again, Jeorge, what a great job you’ve done here.
What do you think Arsenal owe these guys?
They weren’t good enough for the first team.
I think it is more than fair to question the decision making of those arranging loans. Obviously the most baffling currently is sending Charles Sagoe Jr to Swansea when Patino is already there and not getting much game time. Swansea are struggling, have already changed manager, signed a 22 year old Brazilian in the same position in the same window etc etc. How did Swansea become the club of choice for Sagoe jr? Hasn’t even made the matchday squad for the last 2 games (no reports that he is injured but possibly is) and has less game time there than he had at Arsenal this season!!
Sagoe Jr and Azeez aren’t the only ones whose loan club choice seemed strange at the time, do we have good contacts and relationships with other clubs or is it a case our kids aren’t an attractive option for clubs and we are limited as to where we can send them?
Perhaps nobody else came for Sagoe? Have you considered that?
if Arsenal have been so bad in their treatment of Azeez or their judgment of his talent, then how come he’s only at Atletico Baleares?