Exclusive: Arsenal ace’s exit “inevitable” as transfer expert highlights “strange” moment it went wrong for him

It now looks inevitable that Charlie Patino will leave Arsenal this summer, according to journalist and transfer news expert Charles Watts.

Speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside for the latest edition of his column for the Daily Briefing, Watts explained that there seems no doubt that Patino will now leave Arsenal permanently after a couple of loan spells, with there being no indication that he’s going to sign a new contract at the Emirates Stadium.

Watts admits it’s a shame not to see Patino get a run in Mikel Arteta’s first-team, and he feels it was a strange decision by the club not to give him a chance in pre-season in 2022, though it now perhaps makes sense for all parties to go their separate ways.

Patino has one year remaining on his Gunners contract, so the north London giants would do well to cash in on him while they can, though it’s not yet clear who his suitors will be.

Patino transfer: Latest on Arsenal midfielder’s future

“I think Charlie Patino will leave for good this summer. It was very close to happening last summer. That was the plan at the start of the window, but as the window went on it was decided that he would be sent out on loan again,” Watts said.

“Talks are planned for the end of the season, but I would be very surprised if Patino is still an Arsenal player when the summer window closes this time around. He will still have one year left on his deal and as far as I’m aware, a new one won’t be signed. So it just feels inevitable that he will leave on a permanent basis.

“It will be a shame because he’s a big talent and maybe he could have been managed a bit better. There did feel like there was an opportunity to give him a bit more game time, or at least have him around the squad a bit more to see how could have handled the step up. The decision not to take him on the pre-season tour in 2022 was a strange one in my eyes and I’m not sure things ever really recovered from that.

“He’s had a couple of years of Championship football since then with Blackpool and Swansea and things haven’t always gone smoothly for him on those loans, but they would have been great learning experiences for him and he’s clocked up a lot of playing time at a high standard. So the time feels right this summer for him to move on and really try and kickstart his career.”