Matthew Dennis is set to leave Arsenal when his scolarship terms expire at the end of the month.
Dennis, who can play in defence and midfield, featured regularly at Under-18 level this season. However he has numerous youngsters ahead of him in the pecking order across both positions, including former Barcelona prospect Joel Lopez, VfL Bochum loanee Jordi Osei-Tutu and Zak Swanson, who has been training with Mikel Arteta's first-team in recent days.
The 18-year-old, who rejected Chelsea to join posted on Instagram: "It’s been a pleasure Arsenal."
Dennis made 15 appearances for Ken Gillard's U18s in all competitions this season, ending the campaign playing as a winger, and briefly featured at U23 level during a draw with Derby County in August.
The youngster had long been fighting an uphill battle to prove himself to the Arsenal youth hierarchy after tearing his ankle ligaments in the summer of 2018, missing the first half of the season.
Discussing his playing style, Dennis said: "Although Arsenal saw me playing in midfield, when I joined I mostly played as a full back or centre back.
"After a while though I moved more into midfield and now I play mainly on the wing. I’m quite quick and powerful and I am now looking to try and add goals this year and to further improve the quality of my crossing."
Dennis shares an agent with forward Alfie Matthews, who is also set to depart the club in June. The youngster is believed to be of interest to Newcastle United and had scored five goals in 15 U18 appearances this season.
Arsenal's Hale End academy has been the subject of much change since the appointment of Per Mertesacker at its head in the summer of 2018 with the coronavirus pandemic adding to the headaches the former Germany international faces on and off the pitch.
Notably the Gunners had to allow the rolling contracts of ten youth scouts to expire with no academy football to watch over the summer, though the club hope to bring them back into the fold in the autumn.
Discussing his approach to managing the academy, Mertesacker said last month: "We are really keen on giving Mikel Arteta a lot of headaches, you know.
"'He must be thinking, What’s going on in the academy?' Every year there is the potential two, three players who can step onto that court.
"But I know his standards, I know what he stands for, so I need to prepare the players really well so when they step into the first-team environment they are ready and prepared."
