Edu Gaspar’s son Luigi has confirmed he’s leaving Arsenal this summer, after three seasons with the club’s academy sides.

Luigi Gaspar with Arsenal (Photo via Gaspar on Instagram)
Luigi Gaspar with Arsenal (Photo via Gaspar on Instagram)

Joining Arsenal from Corinthians in 2019, Luigi Gaspar followed his father Edu over to North London. The midfielder started out with the u16s, before working his way up to the u18s – even making an u23 appearance in 2021.

But the 18-year-old is now moving on, confirming the decision in an Instagram post.

“Thank you Arsenal, it’s never easy to say goodbye, a club I’ve watched and admired since the first day of my life, my life started here, I was born a North London Boy,” Luigi Gaspar began.

“I wanted to thank everyone who was with me in these last 3 seasons I spent here, there were beautiful moments but also not so easy moments, sometimes things in football don’t work out the way we imagined, but that’s where you get thick skin to prepare you for any situation.

“I cried, laughed, made friends, and built a family here… Eternally grateful for this club that opened the doors for me here in Europe. I arrived here as a boy, leaving Brazil afraid to face new challenges, and I leave today as a man ready for whatever is to come!

“My decision to leave was not an easy choice, but as I said in football, sometimes things don’t go the way we want, I feel that now is a time to face new challenges, to go to a new home.

“I leave here this letter in thanks to all the players, coaches and staff of the club! Thank you for everything you’ve done for me these years!”

Luigi Gaspar with Arsenal (Photo via Gaspar on Instagram)
Luigi Gaspar with Arsenal (Photo via Gaspar on Instagram)

Unfortunately, the story of the teenager’s spell with Arsenal was undercut by injuries.

After playing for the u16s in his debut Arsenal campaign, Gaspar spent the vast majority of 2020/21 absent. He then missed the start of the current season to further disrupt his progress.

Dipping in and out of the team from October to March, the youngster then suffered a further setback and wasn’t involved in any matches from his half-time substitution on March 12th until today.

There’s an argument to be made that inconsistent minutes on the pitch don’t help a player get over their injuries, so perhaps Gaspar feels his departure will help him to find that consistency.

Now that he’s 18, he would have had to play in the u23s full-time next season for Arsenal.

From Arsenal’s point of view, that u23 midfield is already fairly stacked, and it’s probably best if Gaspar does go somewhere he can actually play regularly.