Reuell Walters set to leave Arsenal when his contract expires this summer

Arsenal academy graduate Reuell Walters is expected to leave the North London club at the end of the season when his contract expires, according to The Athletic.

The Gunners offered the 19-year-old defender a new deal but he has rejected it because he is not convinced that remaining with the club will be the right next step for his development.

Walters has trained regularly with the Arsenal first-team and made the matchday squad 21 times, but he is yet to make his senior debut and will now look for opportunities elsewhere.

Gunners left-back Oleksandr Zinchenko claimed last August that the teenager has the most potential in the Hale End academy, picking him ahead of the likes of Ethan Nwaneri and James Sweet.

“I like so much centre-back Reuell,” the Arsenal star replied when asked who has the most potential from the academy.

“I think the qualities he has. He is aggressive. I swear to God, one time he pushed Gabriel Jesus in a shoulder to shoulder. It is not easy to push Gabriel because he is very strong, and he was confident on the ball afterwards, he kept the ball well and passed. Wow. He impresses me the most.”

Walters joined Arsenal from the Tottenham Hotspur academy in 2020 and has been a regular for the under-21s, with 55 appearances to his name since making his debut at 16.

He was voted Arsenal’s Academy Scholar of the Year for the 2022-23 season by the academy staff and was part of the senior team’s pre-season tours in 2022 and 2023.

Walters can play at both centre-back and right-back and is highly rated by the Gunners, but they are set to lose him as first-team opportunities have not been coming his way.

The youngster will not be short of suitors as some Premier League clubs and European sides have been monitoring his situation for a while, and Arsenal may end up ruing losing him if he ends up establishing himself as a star elsewhere going forward.