Arsenal Targets Teenager Jeremy Monga as Future Star
Arsenal’s search for the next great left-sided star has led them to a teenager who treats professional football like a kickabout in the street.
Jeremy Monga, just 16, is firmly on the Gunners’ radar, with Arsenal aiming to strike a deal with Leicester City after the winger’s breakthrough campaign. He made his Premier League debut in 2024/25 and then became a regular in a difficult season that ended with Leicester tumbling out of the Championship and into League One.
That relegation has changed everything.
A gap on Arsenal’s left – and a teenager who fits it
Arsenal’s production line of talent is already impressive. Max Dowman, Marli Salmon, Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly have all nudged their way into senior relevance, giving Mikel Arteta a core of youngsters who look completely at home at elite level.
But look specifically at the left flank and the picture is different. With the futures of Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard uncertain, there is no obvious, long-term, homegrown-style star waiting in the wings on that side. Monga would walk straight into that vacancy in the age profile.
Those who have watched him closely are convinced Arsenal would be landing something special. Leicester City correspondent Josh Holland, of LeicestershireLive and the Leicester Mercury, has seen enough to understand the fuss.
“Monga plays football at a professional standard, like he is playing in the street,” Holland told football.london. “A remarkable ball-carrier who is obsessed with beating his man and driving forward.”
That is exactly the profile Arsenal have leaned towards under Arteta: aggressive, vertical, technically fearless.
Street footballer in a professional world
Monga’s best work has come off the left, starting high and wide, hugging the touchline before slashing infield. He wants the ball early, wants it often, and wants to go at defenders. Holland describes a player strong on both feet, armed with “incredible agility” and an instinct to drive rather than recycle.
Leicester, he argues, never truly leaned into that talent in the Championship.
“Leicester didn’t use him anywhere near as much as they should have last season in the Championship,” Holland said, before drawing a comparison that will catch the eye in north London. “They’re different players, but there are big similarities between Monga and Max Dowman.”
Dowman’s rapid rise at Arsenal has already shown how quickly Arteta will trust a teenager if the talent is undeniable and the work matches the promise. Monga fits that same bracket: raw, fearless, with the kind of one‑v‑one ability that can flip a tight game in a heartbeat.
Not for now, but very much for soon
Nobody at Leicester, or Arsenal, expects Monga to walk straight into Arteta’s starting XI. The club’s main senior target on the left remains Morgan Rogers of Aston Villa, a player ready to contribute immediately if a deal can be done.
Monga, by contrast, would be one for the next phase of the project. Holland agrees that an instant role in the first team is unlikely, but he has seen enough to believe the wait will be worth it.
“When he came into the first team at the end of the 2024/25 Premier League season, he was turning defenders inside out, and it genuinely felt like City had a generational talent,” he said.
Then came the dip. His expected minutes fell, questions emerged over his attitude, and Leicester’s season unravelled.
“His drop in expected minutes was a concern, and there were some doubts over his attitude,” Holland admitted. “But I’m in the camp that he’s just a 16-year-old taking the pressure in his stride, and he’s not an emotional figure.
“I don’t expect him to feature for Arsenal anytime soon. Give him one more season, and I think he’d be ready to be a key member of Mikel Arteta’s side.”
That is the kind of projection that tempts a club like Arsenal. Sign him now, shape him for a year, then unleash him into a squad that could be crying out for a left-sided livewire.
Leicester’s reality: a talent they can’t really afford to keep
The money is where this story bites hardest for Leicester. Suggestions place the fee between £10 million and £15 million, with a tribunal still a possibility depending on how the move is structured.
Under normal circumstances, Leicester might dig in. For a club outside the top flight, in a stable position, that figure for a 16-year-old with only 37 senior appearances could be framed as a bonus, not a necessity.
But these are not normal circumstances. Relegation to League One has stripped away that luxury.
“I’m split on this. £10m-£15m is a decent fee for a 16-year-old,” Holland said. “Even more so when you consider he’s only played 37 times at senior level.
“But on the flip side. 12 months ago, the thought of him leaving for that seemed unrealistic. That’s the result of Leicester’s relegation to League One.
“As a third-tier outfit, City can’t turn their nose up at that sort of fee.”
That is the brutal trade-off. Leicester lose a potential cornerstone of their future; Arsenal seize an opportunity the market rarely offers at this level of talent and age.
For Arsenal, Monga would not be a headline signing. Not yet. But in a squad evolving towards a younger, more explosive front line, a 16-year-old who plays top-level football like it’s a game in the park might be exactly the kind of gamble that defines the next era at the Emirates.
