Deportivo midfielder shares advice for Arsenal’s next generation | OneFootball

Charlie Patino’s Spanish Sojourn and His Message to Arsenal’s Next GenerationLeaving home to reconnect with heritage

It was a chilly Carabao Cup night in December 2021 when the name Charlie Patino first entered the wider footballing conversation. At 18, with Arsenal already 4-1 up against Sunderland, the teenager stepped off the bench to the sound of his name echoing from the Emirates stands. He scored. Arsenal fans believed they had witnessed a prodigy arrive. The narrative seemed written.

Photo IMAGO

But football does not always follow the script.

Three years later, Patino is not challenging for a spot in Arsenal’s midfield alongside Declan Rice and Martin Ødegaard. Instead, he is learning Spanish, living close to extended family, and trying to help Deportivo La Coruna return to La Liga. The £1 million move surprised some, but for Patino, it was both personal and professional. “It’s all about timing,” he said to The Athletic. “Things happen for a reason and we move on.”

A grounding experience in Galicia

His new home, Galicia, carries family history. Patino’s grandfather was a devoted Deportivo supporter. The club’s history, La Liga winners in 2000, Champions League semi-finalists in 2004, gives Patino’s mission a sense of gravitas. Rejoining the second division after years of turmoil, Deportivo’s goal is clear. “Getting them to the first division would be massive,” Patino admits, especially with “all my family living there and me playing for the club.”

Photo IMAGO

That connection has made adaptation easier, even if the footballing transition has presented its own challenges. Last season, he featured just eight times in all competitions. Still only 21, he has used the opportunity to develop off the pitch too. “I’m still learning day-by-day stuff, but on-pitch stuff, I pretty much know all of it,” he explains, speaking of his language lessons and growing fluency in Spanish.

Perspective shaped by experience

Patino’s advice to Arsenal’s latest Hale End graduates is instructive. He speaks with the clarity of someone who has seen both the elation and the uncertainty of early promise. He references Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri, keeping close tabs on their progress, and even namechecks 15-year-old Max Dowman.

Photo Goal.com

“To be breaking in (at 15) is a massive thing,” he says. “It’s very rare for people that age to be doing that. I’d say from my experiences to not put too much pressure on a kid that age and just let him learn from training.”

His own education came from training with Arsenal’s senior players. “That’s what I was like when I started training with the first team at 17. I was learning from Granit Xhaka, David Luiz, big egos in the group, big characters. That’s how I learnt from them.”

Photo: IMAGO

This mature view is not born of frustration, but of clarity. The pathway to the top is not always linear. Timing, opportunity, and context all play their part. His exit came at a time when “there were a lot of other players in my position… and it was a time when Mikel wanted to push for the league.”

Style and structure in Spain

What Patino has found in Spain is a different type of football. “It’s a lot more technical, a lot more ball-oriented and tactical,” he notes. “Whereas the Premier League and the Championship are more physical.”

The contrast is especially stark when recalling his spells at Blackpool and Swansea. “A lot of teams would press us very high and go man-to-man,” he says. Spain offers a space where his qualities, vision, touch and movement are more appreciated, more suited.

There is something poetic in his journey. A player hyped from youth level, scoring on debut, only to quietly exit and start anew in a league that values patience and technical detail. Yet the ambition remains. Deportivo’s aim this season is promotion, and under new coach Antonio Hidalgo, there is renewed optimism. If Patino plays a key role, he will not just be reclaiming a trajectory but writing a chapter of his own.

Our View – EPL Index Analysis

Watching Charlie Patino’s journey from wonderkid to second-tier Spain feels familiar and slightly uncomfortable. Arsenal fans have seen too many “next big things” fade into the background. But with Patino, there is more nuance.

He never looked out of his depth. His debut was special. He handled loans with grace. And he made a mature decision to leave, rather than wait in hope for a breakthrough that may never come. That deserves respect.

What hits hardest is his empathy for the next wave. Young talents like Lewis-Skelly, Nwaneri and Dowman are all under the microscope. Patino’s message, give them time, don’t overload them, is one every Arsenal fan should heed.

It’s tempting to say Arsenal should have found space for him. Maybe he would have thrived in a different season, a different moment in Arteta’s rebuild. But football moves quickly, and Patino is carving his place elsewhere.

If he leads Deportivo back to La Liga, it will be one of the most satisfying success stories from Hale End in years. One that proves development does not have to follow the Premier League spotlight to be meaningful.