Olaleye Idowu
Former Chelsea centre-back Kenneth Omeruo has tried to explain why Eberechi Eze left Arsenal in 2011.
The Nigerian international tried to explain how unforgiving European youth academies are when a youngster fails to meet their expectations
The defender, who moved from one club to another on loan until he finally left Chelsea, said that European clubs do not hesitate to release those who fail to progress.
Arsenal re-signed Eze last summer, with the England international having previously spent five years at the club.
After leaving Arsenal, Eze went to Fulham, Reading and Queens Park Rangers, where he continued his development
He rose to prominence at QPR, earning a move to Premier League side Crystal Palace.
Omeruo said Eze was allowed to leave the Gunners at the age of 13 because he did not meet the required benchmark at the time.
“In Europe, every club has the U10S and U11S, and they graduate,” Omeruo said on Arise News.
“Every year, there’s a screening; if you don’t get to the next level, they take you out.
“For example, you know the story of Ebere [Eze] now playing for Arsenal. When he was in Arsenal, he couldn’t make it to the next level.
“It doesn’t mean that he wasn’t good enough or that he would not get to that level, which he did at some point.”
Omeruo insisted that Eze’s setback was less about a lack of talent and more about the depth of competition within elite academies.
“There are other players who were better than him then, so if you can’t get to the next level, you can go to another academy.”
Eze was the star of the show as Arsenal thrashed north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur 4-1 at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday, with the Hale End product scoring the first hat-trick of his professional career.
