‘Did not sit right with me’… Premier League player now shares why he had to leave Arsenal in 2018

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Arsenal have a number of Hale End graduates running around Europe right now.

The likes of Harry Kane, Serge Gnabry, Bukayo Saka, Folarin Balogun, Emiliano Martinez, Hector Bellerin and others all spent time in the youth ranks at Arsenal, showing the level of quality Hale End is capable of producing.

Hale End has also produced a player for Brentford – who has now spoken about why he felt the need to leave Arsenal back in 2018…

Josh Dasilva opens up on 2018 Arsenal exit

Josh Dasilva has now spoken to Rising Ballers about why he opted to depart the Emirates Stadium back in the summer of 2018.

Arsenal actually offered the man from Ilford a new contract when his previous deal expired, but the 25-year-old decided to try something different, and signed for Brentford instead.

Speaking about that decision, Dasilva said: “I just thought the plan that was set by Arsenal did not sit right with me, and obviously discussing with my family, my agents, and yeah, I didn’t feel it was right for me, so I made the decision to leave. Big decision at the time, but I guess I just, as everyone, wanted the best for my football career.”

The Brentford No.10 did not explain the finer details of this “plan” laid out by Arsenal, but he clearly didn’t agree with it whatsoever after making only three senior appearances for the Gunners.

Dasilva has since made 157 appearances for the Bees, scoring 22 goals while also providing 12 assists.

Mikel Arteta must show young talents a pathway

Dasilva made his decision before Mikel Arteta arrived at Arsenal, although the Gunners could still benefit from promoting a few more youngsters, or others will surely become disillusioned like the Brentford man did.

The likes of Omari Hutchinson, who was compared to Eden Hazard – and is now a £20m Premier League forward with Ipswich Town – left Arsenal for Chelsea in 2022 in search of better opportunities, with other gems such as Charlie Patino and Amario Cozier-Duberry also leaving in the summer transfer window just gone.

Of course, it could just be a simple case of these talents not being good enough for Arsenal, although we feel a few Hale Enders certainly deserve more chances to play in the early rounds of the domestic cup competitions, at least.