Arsenal have confirmed that Marli Salmon has signed a pre-contract agreement with the club that will lead to him signing professional terms upon his 17th birthday in August.
The defender is one of Arsenal’s most highly rated prospects alongside Max Dowman, who signed a similar deal in January.
Conversations around Salmon’s pre-contract were instigated by James Ellis, the club’s former technical director. After Ellis’ departure, academy manager Per Mertesacker assumed full responsibility for overseeing the process, with contractual and financial negotiations handled by director of football operations James King.
Like Dowman, Salmon was part of the Arsenal squad which travelled to Singapore and Hong Kong in pre-season. Aged 15 at the time, the England Under-17 international came on for cameos against AC Milan, Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United.
Since then, he has made four competitive appearances for Arsenal’s first team, one in the Champions League and three in the FA Cup. His FA Cup start away to Mansfield Town in the fourth round, alongside Dowman, made Arsenal the first Premier League side to start a competitive match with two players aged 16 or under in any competition.
On signing the deal, Salmon told Arsenal’s website: “It’s a very big moment for me, for my family as well. I’m very proud. I’ve been at the academy since I was nine and I just want to give everything to the club.
“I’m an Arsenal supporter, and I’ve had some great memories so far. I’m so proud to have made my debut this season, I just want to keep pushing on still, keep my levels high and try to get as much experience as I can in the first team.”
Arsenal recognise the talent they have
Analysis by Arsenal correspondent Art de Roche
Salmon following in Dowman’s footsteps is a very positive sign for Arsenal.
To secure his future will hold importance not just because the pair will continue to come through together, as Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly did before them, but also because of the position he plays.
Arsenal rarely produce defenders who break into their first team, with recent examples Lewis-Skelly and Ainsley Maitland-Niles coming through as midfielders. Dan Ballard is a recent centre-back who has come through the academy, but he was sold to Sunderland before making a competitive appearance for the club after successful loan spells at Blackpool and Millwall.
Most of Salmon’s first-team exposure has come at right-back, but he is a centre-back by trade and could be in a strong position to learn from William Saliba and Gabriel and potentially succeed them.
This season has shown that it will be a while before the 16-year-old reaches that level, though. His first start away to Mansfield was a good test in an uncomfortable environment, where he had some involvement in the host’s equaliser, but he has also been given the responsibility of captaining the Under-21s.
His birthday falling on August 29 will give him a very short time to potentially go out on loan at the end of the summer transfer window — players can only be loaned out if they are 17 or older, and the transfer deadline is usually at the end of August — but even if he doesn’,t the fact that this deal has already been finalised show that Arsenal recognise the talent they have.
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