Record-breaking Arsenal academy youngster praised | OneFootball

Jack Wilshere has credited Chido Martin Obi’s hard work amid the striker’s record-breaking run of form, whilst also praising the centre-forward’s teammates.

Arsenal u18 manager Jack Wilshere has certainly reaped the rewards of an unprecedented run of form from start striker Chido Martin Obi over the last couple of months.

Since mid-March, Martin Obi has played seven u18 Premier League matches, scoring 24 goals. Unsurprisingly, Arsenal have won six of those seven games, drawing the other.

To put that run in context, Martin Obi would be four goals clear at the top of the u18 Premier League top scorer list this season even if he’d only played those seven games.

Martin Obi’s 28 goals this season make him the Arsenal u18s’ best-ever u18 Premier League goalscorer, and he’s done it as a 16-year-old schoolboy player yet to even sign scholarship terms with the club.

Wilshere admitted after Arsenal’s 9-0 win over Norwich City that Martin Obi’s form is giving the team a big boost, crediting both the player’s hard work and the teammates who keep setting him up.

“Of course, it helps when you have a goalscorer like Chido who is on fire at the moment, and everything he touches seems to go in,” Wilshere said.

“He’s worked so hard over the last couple of years, especially since we’ve had him at Sobha Realty Training Centre over the last six weeks, and he’s getting his rewards for that hard work.

“But, we’ve also got to give massive credit to the team for supplying him.”

You can watch the highlights of the game here.

It’s true that Martin Obi is being helped by those behind him. All seven of his goals against Norwich City were assisted, with no rebounds falling to him or poor Norwich play gifting him the chance to score.

Harrison Dudziak set up two of the goals, with Andre Annous creating two more. Louie Copley, Max Dowman, and Cam’ron Ismail made the other three, meaning half the team had assisted the Arsenal striker by full time.

But it’s ultimately up to Martin Obi to keep taking those chances, and right now he can’t stop doing so.

If this kind of form continues, Wilshere won’t keep hold of the striker for long. The u21s and senior football awaits.