Former Arsenal youngster Nathan Tella has proved his doubters wrong with a growing trophy collection at Bayer Leverkusen.
The 25-year-old feared his dreams of a career in football were going up in smoke when he failed to secure a professional contract with the Gunners in 2017. He'd been working his way through their academy for a decade before his release.
But fast forward to today and Tella is a £20million player with as much silverware to his name as his former club since he left. Southampton handed him a lifeline as a teenager and he would go on to make his Premier League debut for them.
A year on loan at Burnley for the 2022/23 campaign saw him score 17 times as they scooped the Championship title, which prompted Leverkusen to splash £20m on him last summer. He was a part of their squad which remarkably went unbeaten in the Bundesliga last season, registering seven goal contributions.
In a full-circle moment, Tella returned to north London for a pre-season friendly in the summer which Arsenal won 4-1. "Going back to the Emirates as a champion, as an invincible as well, it's a great feeling, and it's an amazing feeling," he said ahead of the match.
"The day that happened, when I got released, my whole world just came crashing down. That was probably the first time in my life I'd ever been rejected from something in a sense.
"I'd worked so hard to get to the level I am and technically it's the last step before you think of yourself as a professional footballer for Arsenal. I might say I was this close to doing it, or this close to doing it.
"I was one step away from ultimately fulfilling my dream for the club I support. It was really hard for me at the time."
With victory in the German Super Cup in August, Tella claimed his fourth trophy in the space of just 15 months following Leverkusen's league and cup double. It could have been five had they not lost to Atalanta in the Europa League final, their only defeat in 2023/24.
That's the same amount that Arsenal have won since the season he was let go, with one FA Cup and three Community Shields. Despite his disappointing exit, Tella still considers himself a supporter of the club.
He added: "I always check the results. When we’re playing I’m always quick to see the lineups and how they’re doing. I’m still an Arsenal fan.”