Elijah Upson has made himself an unpopular figure among the Tottenham supporters by leaving the Spurs academy to sign for their North London rivals.
While Spurs have added proven Premier League quality to their squad this summer, they have also lost many young talents.
Luka Vuskovic, Tynan Thompson, Alfie Devine and Will Lankshear have all departed the club, with reports indicating that Ashley Phillips could also be on his way out of the club.
Another highly rated young defender has also left the Hotspur Way academy to sign for the club’s North London rivals.
Teenager Elijah Upson makes admission about swapping Tottenham for Arsenal
Centre-back Elijah Upson rejected multiple contract offers from Spurs to make a move across the North London divide.
The 18-year-old, who was thought of very highly at Hotspur Way, has admitted that the chance to train with world-class centre-backs at Arsenal was a big reason behind his switch.
On signing for the Gunners, the former Spurs man said (via The Standard): “That was one of the big reasons for my decision – obviously great exposure to some of these great players that have had a great season here and some real top quality. I’m excited to hopefully be around and work with these people.
“I think definitely the centre-back partnership in the first team that there is between [William] Saliba and Gabriel, they’re a good inspiration and really experienced, high-quality players. They’ve had a great season, definitely two players that I’m really keen to learn from and expose myself to hopefully.”
Upson rubs salt into Spurs’ wounds by expressing pride at Arsenal move
The teenager is the son of former England defender Mathew Upson, who himself came through the Arsenal academy before going on to captain West Ham.
Elijah, who has already represented England at U18 level, expressed his ‘pride’ at being an Arsenal player.
He added: “It’s a great feeling, really proud to be here. When I met the guys here recently and met all the team and staff, it just seemed like a really nice environment. That was probably the biggest factor, an environment where you feel you can hopefully learn and get better as a person.”