Mikel Arteta’s side are the latest to express interest in Leicester wonderkid Jeremy Monga, hoping to keep their rivals at bay in the quest for his signature.
Arsenal are reportedly keen to sign Leicester City’s Jeremy Monga - the Championship side’s 16-year-old winger who broke into the senior team last season.
This year, Monga has recorded three goal involvements, one goal and two assists, in seven starts and 25 Championship games for Leicester, averaging 34 minutes played per game.
Who is Jeremy Monga?
According to a report from The Telegraph, Mikel Arteta is a long-time admirer of the 16-year-old, who is widely perceived as one of England’s fastest rising talents.
Monga’s defining traits include his speed and silkiness on the ball, known as a natural trickster, with the versatile ability to play both on the wing and centrally as a playmaker.
During Leicester’s Premier League campaign last season, Monga signed a professional contract with the Foxes, which will take effect when he turns 17 in the summer.
Despite Leicester’s relegation, Monga became the second-youngest player in Premier League history at the time, now third behind Arsenal’s Max Dowman, who featured in FourFourTwo's 'The Boy's A Bit Special' series, and Ethan Nwaneri.
The then 15-year-old forward made a 17-minute cameo in April 2025 during Leicester City's 3-0 Premier League defeat to Newcastle, wearing a sponsor-less shirt to comply with UK gambling laws.
In the post-match press conference, Ruud van Nistelrooy praised his debutant, saying 'he showed glimpses of quality at such a young age'.
Known for his directness on the ball, the 16-year-old has represented England at youth level, playing alongside Dowman who possesses similar dribbling qualities and has displayed them this season at the highest level of English club football.
Clearly, Arsenal are no strangers to calling up the earliest of youth talent to Premier League action, and they’re now looking to sign the last of the competition’s current youngest three this summer.
Despite Monga’s soon to be activated contract with Leicester, and talks of a summer of significant change for the currently relegation-battling Foxes, his future at the club is not guaranteed.
Leicester are hoping for a rebuild ahead of next season, Championship or not, that will be largely structured around their youth talent, with Monga as the pick of the bunch.
Arsenal’s hopes of signing the 16-year-old are rivalled by Manchester United and Manchester City, according to a report from TEAMtalk.
Should Arsenal complete Monga's signing, the Premier League's three youngest-ever debutants (Nwaneri, Dowman and Monga) would all be on the Gunners' books at the same time.
