England’s best – Academy study lists Arsenal as country’s most-prolific

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A study on European football academies across 31 leagues lists the Arsenal academy as England’s most prolific. The Gunners crack the top 25 overall.

CIES Football Observatory has released a study on academy products across 31 European leagues. It covers the number of graduates from each team playing throughout those leagues, as well as the average number of games, the level of teams, and the average age.

It reflects well on Arsenal, who have 39 academy graduates playing throughout the 31 top leagues. That’s 24th overall but better than every other Premier League side.

Manchester United run them closest with 35 and Manchester City behind them on 32.

Arsenal don’t quite top the lot when it comes to players in Europe’s ‘Big 5’ leagues, however. They have 24 graduates playing at the elite level – one fewer than United but good enough for the second-best in England and 10th overall.

Real Madrid top the pile in the Big 5 with a massive 43 graduates. That’s 11 more than second-place Barcelona, making them far and away the most prolific academy system at the top level.

Spain and France dominate the standings. They hold 14 spots in the top 20, including the top eight.

Looking at the ‘level’ of the players is interesting, too. Liverpool – who have just 11 graduates in the Big 5 leagues – top that statistic, suggesting the quality of graduate there is very high.

The Arsenal academy is 11th overall in that regard and fourth in England. Liverpool, United and Southampton are the only English sides to beat them.