Arsenal Targets Leicester Teen Jeremy Monga as Future Left-Wing Star

Arsenal’s recruitment team has spent the summer scouring Europe for wide players, but one of the most intriguing names on their list is just 16 and already carrying the weight of a relegated club’s hopes on his shoulders.

Jeremy Monga, Leicester City’s fearless left winger, is firmly on Arsenal’s radar, with the club aiming to secure a deal for the teenager after his breakout 2024/25 campaign.

He emerged in the Premier League, then became a regular in the Championship. Leicester slid into League One; Monga’s reputation went the other way.

A gap on Arsenal’s left – and a teenager who fits it

Arsenal’s academy conveyor belt is humming. Max Dowman, Marli Salmon, Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis‑Skelly have all nudged their way into the senior conversation, some more forcefully than others. The club has rarely been richer in young midfield and attacking talent.

But look specifically at the left flank and the picture changes.

With uncertainty around the futures of Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard, there is no obvious heir from the younger age groups to take over that channel. Arsenal have depth across the pitch; they lack a natural, high‑ceiling left winger in the next wave.

That is where Monga comes in.

Leicester City correspondent Josh Holland, who covers the club for LeicestershireLive and the Leicester Mercury, has watched the teenager closely. His description of Monga is the kind that makes recruitment departments lean forward.

“Monga plays football at a professional standard, like he is playing in the street,” Holland said. A “remarkable ball-carrier”, obsessed with beating his man and driving forward.

This is not a cautious, safety‑first wide player. He wants duels. He wants to run at you.

Street footballer in a professional game

Monga’s best work has come off the left, taking high and wide positions, hugging the touchline, demanding the ball. From there, he drives infield, using both feet and sharp changes of direction to unbalance defenders.

He is not just quick; he is agile, slippery, hard to pin down. Holland describes him as strong off either foot, with “incredible agility”. For a 16‑year‑old stepping into senior football in a relegation battle, that blend of confidence and physical coordination is rare.

Leicester, Holland believes, did not lean on him nearly enough in the Championship. In a season that unravelled, a fanbase that had started to believe they had a generational talent on their hands watched him drift to the fringes more often than they expected.

“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,” Holland said.

Then the minutes dropped. So did the excitement.

Talent, attitude questions and Arteta’s pathway

The reduction in his expected minutes raised questions. In any relegation fight, young players can quickly become lightning rods for debate. In Monga’s case, doubts surfaced around his attitude.

Holland, though, is not buying the idea that this is a problem character.

“His drop in expected minutes was a concern, and there were some doubts over his attitude. 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,” he explained.

Arsenal will do their own homework, but they will also see a pattern that suits them. Under Mikel Arteta, the club has not been afraid to push teenagers into meaningful roles when they are ready. The use of Dowman this season underlined that point: if you are good enough and can cope with the demands, you will get a chance.

Still, nobody at London Colney expects Monga to walk straight into the first team. Holland shares that view.

“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.”

The plan, then, would be clear: secure the asset now, develop him carefully, and let his natural flair mature within a more structured environment.

Rogers now, Monga next?

Arsenal’s immediate search for a wide player remains focused on Morgan Rogers of Aston Villa. That is the signing aimed at the here and now, a player to step into the rotation if a senior wide forward leaves.

Monga is a different type of move. This is the long view – the next wave, not the current one.

The two tracks can run together. Arsenal have shown they can chase established Premier League talent while still investing aggressively in the 16‑ to 18‑year‑old bracket. In that context, a left‑sided dribbler with Monga’s profile and experience is exactly the sort of market opportunity they like to exploit.

The price of relegation

Then comes the uncomfortable part for Leicester: the fee.

Suggestions are that Arsenal would need to pay between £10 million and £15 million for Monga, with a tribunal still a possibility depending on how the deal is structured. For a 16‑year‑old with only 37 senior appearances, it is a serious number.

For a club just relegated to League One, it is also hard to ignore.

“I’m split on this. £10m-£15m is a decent fee for a 16-year-old,” Holland admitted. “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 reality of the drop. A year ago, Leicester could have built a project around Monga, framed him as the face of a new era, and demanded a fee that scared most suitors away. Now, the financial pressure of third‑tier football changes the calculation.

For Arsenal, that shift opens a door.

A gamble worth taking?

There is risk here. Any teenager, even one as gifted as Monga, comes with uncertainty. He has flashed brilliance, not yet sustained dominance. He has shown fearlessness, but also the inconsistency you would expect from a player still in school‑leaver territory.

Arsenal, though, are not looking for a finished product. They are hunting for upside on the left flank, a player who can grow into the role just as their current core moves into its peak years.

Monga plays like he is still on the street, ball at his feet, defender in front of him, no fear. If Arsenal do close this deal, the real question will not be whether he is worth £10m or £15m today.

It will be how quickly that fee starts to look like a bargain.