If Arsenal's 2021/22 season has proven anything, it's that the Hale End Academy is the future.
Emile Smith Rowe is the club's leading scorer with 10 goals across all competitions and his partner - a fellow academy graduate - Bukayo Saka isn't too far behind with eight.
Combined, the pair have 24 goal contributions this season and they were acknowledged by Arsenal supporters during and after the 2-1 win over Brentford at the weekend as their iconic chant - set to the old Status Quo song 'Rockin All Over The World' - rung around the Emirates Stadium.
At just 21 and 20 years of age respectively, Smith Rowe and Saka can cement themselves as club legends in the next decade, provided they keep progressing at their current rate.
But for now, they are paving the way for the next batch of Arsenal youngsters aspiring to emulate them in making the step up to the first-team squad in the near future.
In Charlie Patino, Mika Biereth, Miguel Azeez, Brooke Norton-Cuffy and Salah-Eddine Oulad M'Hand just to name a few, there's a lot of talent emerging at the club's much talked about Hale End academy.
Omari Hutchinson is another name that must be added to the list.
The teenager can operate on the flanks as well as centrally and took his goal contributions to 14 for the season (8g, 6a) in just 19 appearances at youth level with the equaliser in Arsenal U23's draw with their Leicester City counterparts on Monday night.
This prompted calls amongst supporters on social media for Hutchinson to make his senior debut sooner rather than later.
Take a look at what has been said on Twitter in the aftermath of the wonderkid's goal against the Foxes.
@SmithRoweHQ said: "Omari Hutchinson that’s it that’s the tweet, surely gets a debut for the senior team soon."
@mitchpeotter said: "Every single Omari Hutchinson goal I see is incredible, I can’t wait for him to break into the first team."
@AbsoluteEsr said: "Insane dribbling ability, finishing, and speed, has a solid work rate and a well rounded game, IMO (in my opinion) the best player Hale end has to offer. A star in the making."
@Mikeysanchez27 said: "Omari Giraud Hutchinson is on fire. He will be challenging for a first-team spot next season."
This isn't the first time that Hutchison has proven that he could soon be ready to make the jump to the first-team, as he caught the eye in a Papa John's Trophy match against Newport earlier in the season.
Now, it's clear that the 18-year-old is on Mikel Arteta 's radar. In fact, the Arsenal manager has included the youngster in his matchday squads on four different occasions already in 2022.
Most recently against Brentford as Hutchinson got a front-row seat to witness his two Hale End inspirations make the decisive impact.
The reason for his inclusion was due to the Gunners being short of numbers to name a 20-man matchday squad with Gabriel Martinelli missing out through suspension.
Fellow academy prospect Zach Awe benefitted from this scenario when Takehiro Tomiyasu was ruled out of the 1-0 win over Wolves earlier in the month as he provided defensive cover alongside left-back Nuno Tavares.
So with Hutchinson very similar to Martinelli in terms of position, he got the nod over the likes of Patino, Biereth and Awe again to be Arsenal's 20th man against Brentford.
And when taking into consideration that as injuries, suspensions and Covid-19 absences are a possibility between now and May, this increases the chances of Hutchinson and his fellow academy starlets earning more call-ups to a Premier League matchday squad before the end of the season.
Although, it will likely take a special set of circumstances for him to make his senior bow during the Gunners' final 15 games of the campaign.
Not only does Hutchinson need to wait for an opening in the squad, but assuming that senior players such as Nicolas Pepe are first in line to come off bench, patience is required.
Unless of course, a similar situation that led to Patino's debut against Sunderland in the Carabao Cup occurs where Arsenal have a comfortable lead going into the final 10 minutes of a game and Arteta decides to give another youngster a brief run out.
With that said, slowly introducing Arsenal's youngsters into the first-team fold has been Arteta's policy ever since he was appointed all the way back in December 2019.
As per transfermarkt, the Spaniard has handed senior debuts to four academy players in Folarin Balogun, Patino, Ben Cottrell and Azeez.
Of the quartet, only Balogun has featured in the Premier League during Arteta's reign, although he, Cottrell and Azeez did benefit from the Gunners being in the Europa League last season.
That hasn't been an option for Hutchinson this term and nor are any of the domestic cup competitions for the remainder of the campaign with the north London outfit crashing out of both the FA Cup and Carabao Cup in January.
And as the Gunners have '15 cup finals' remaining in their quest for a top-four finish, a senior debut for Hutchinson this season does appear unlikely.
But knowing that Arsenal are well-placed to seal a return to European competition next season, the 2022/23 campaign could be when the next Hale End prospect is unleashed.
