Arsenal fans are excited about the emergence of young Charlie Patiño at their academy. At 17 years old, this skilled midfielder has just made his debut with the Under-23 team in a game that faced the Gunners with Tottenham, neither more nor less. Skipping such an age difference is very difficult in any quarry and is only available to a select few. Patiño certainly is. And his story can end up leading to a fight between the best clubs to take him, as well as a dispute between England and Spain to summon him for their national team.
The young Arsenal diamond was born in Watford in October 2003, but has Galician roots. Coruñeses, in particular. His father is from there and traveled to English lands with his family in the 60s to carve out a better future. He succeeded and married an English woman with whom he had two children, one of them Charlie. Now it is this little talent who can pull the family bandwagon if he confirms on the pitch everything he promises as an exceptional footballer.
So far he has already played with the U-15 and U-16 in England. He is left-handed, plays as a midfielder and has excelled in every category at Arsenal since arriving from Luton Town. All the great English clubs were interested in him at the time, but he opted for Arsenal because it allowed him to continue living in the family home.
Things couldn’t be better for him. He has already trained with the first team under the guidance of Mikel Arteta and his debut with the Under-23 team is another step in his career. In Spain they already know about him – he was a rival of the National Team in a match with the U-16 – and they have him in their portfolio in case, if he continues with this progression, he opts to play with La Roja. The player’s Galician roots can help, as well as a surname that clearly gives him away. Another of those cases of migrant families who achieved success away from home.
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