Arteta lifts the lid on Chido Obi's decision to leave Arsenal & join Man United

Mikel Arteta has opened up on Chido Obi's move to Manchester United as the former Arsenal academy star prepares to face his old side for the first time.

The 17-year-old completed a surprise move to Old Trafford back in October and has since had first-team opportunities amid United's recent injury struggles.

His recent cameo against Fulham has got Red Devils supporters purring and they could get another glimpse at the youngster when they take on Arsenal.

Ahead of the game, Arteta admitted it was 'unfortunate' that Obi decided to leave but insisted that the Gunners have 'moved on' from his departure.

‘Obviously, when a player decides that the best pathway for him is to leave, there's not much you can do,' the Spaniard explained.

'Very unfortunate because we want to keep our players from the academy and to be very successful with the first team. But in that case, with Ayden (Heaven), we weren't able to do that.

‘To persuade a player to stay a player has to be willing to be with us and commit to us and I don’t know specifically, both parties will feel very different about it.

'The reality is that he has decided to move and we have moved on from that.’

Asked about the 17-year-old's qualities, he said: '‘Massive goal threat, an attitude and love to be inside the box and a capacity to score in many different ways. That was him.'

At the start of the month, after United's FA Youth Cup win over the Gunners, Obi aimed a thinly-veiled dig at his former side.

The Red Devils claimed a 3-2 victory after extra time at the Emirates to book their place in the semi-finals.

Substitute Bendito Mantato decided the game with a 99th minute strike and posted on Instagram afterwards: 'Right until the end, my team, onto the semis'.

Obi-Martin, who left Arsenal for United in October, then commented 'THANK YOU SO MUCH', with several laughing emojis.

The 17-year-old striker was not involved in the quarter-final clash as he was promoted to Ruben Amorim's first team following Amad Diallo's season-ending injury last month.

He was handed his debut away to Tottenham and also got first team minutes in the 2-2 draw away to Everton last week.

Obi has been a revelation for the Under 18s in the Youth Cup this season, scoring seven goals in United’s three matches prior to the win over Arsenal.