Where are they now? The 6 academy kids Arsenal released in 2014 a decade later
Arsenal have produced plenty of gems over the years, although not all of their academy prospects have managed to make it at the Emirates.
For every Jack Wilshere or Bukayo Saka there are countless other examples of players who didn’t quite make the grade at Arsenal.
We’ve gone back to 2014 and have checked out what the six academy kids Arsenal released that year are now up to these days.
Zach Fagan
The holding midfielder spent his formative years in north London but was released in 2014 having never made a senior appearance for the club.
Since leaving Arsenal, Fagan has spent his entire career playing non-league football. He most recently played for ninth-tier outfit FC Romania, but is currently without a club.
Zak Ansah
The forward spent 10 years in the Arsenal academy and upon his release in 2014 he joined Charlton Athletic. After a short stint in the EFL, he then dropped down to non-league in 2016.
Now 29 years old, Ansah currently plays for Welling Town who compete in the Southern Counties East League Premier Division.
Chuks Aneke
Aneke did make a cameo appearance for Arsenal in the League Cup before he was eventually cut loose in 2014. He’s enjoyed a solid career in the EFL since leaving Arsenal, predominately playing in League One and the Championship.
Nowadays he plays for Charlton Athletic and is just nine goals away from hitting the 100 tally for his career.
Nicklas Bendtner
Undoubtedly, the most recognisable name on this list. The Danish forward spent one year in the Arsenal academy before making 171 appearances for the club and scoring 45 goals. So he makes this list on a big of a technicality but he still fits the billing.
“He was very young when I first spotted him, 16 or 17 years old, and I thought he was very interesting because he has a good technique, good stature, good pace, good in the air, good link play – he had it all in the locker,” Arsene Wenger said during an interview in 2016.
“I felt that he had good periods in his career, and then periods when it went less well for him.”
After being released in 2014, Bendtner had spells in Germany, England, Norway and Denmark before he eventually called it quits on his playing career in 2021.
🇩🇰 Nicklas Bendtner has announced his retirement from football at the age of 33.
Throwback to Lord Bendtner scoring the fastest goal by a substitute in Premier League history.
1.8 seconds. 🤯
— VBET UK (@VBET_uk) June 3, 2021
Leander Siemann
The Gunners spent £220,000 to land a deal for Siemann back in 2011. He went on to spend the next three years in the academy, but never got his chance at the senior level and was released in 2014.
Upon leaving Arsenal he was quickly snapped up by Porto B, although that move was relatively short-lived. In 2015, the German defender was hit with a one-year suspension from football for using banned substances and he was then let go by the Portuguese club.
He’s since bounced around some of the German lower leagues but is currently without a club.
Daniel Boateng
Boateng spent seven years in the Arsenal academy before he was eventually promoted to the senior team in 2010. Most of his Arsenal career was spent out on loan, although he did manage to make one League Cup appearance in 2011–12.
After being let go in 2014, the defender has rarely settled in one place for long. The 31-year-old has played for 11 different clubs throughout his career and has had stints in multiple European countries.
He most recently played for non-league outfit Haringey Borough, but currently finds himself as a free agent.
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