{"id":142102,"date":"2023-10-07T08:15:51","date_gmt":"2023-10-07T08:15:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity-hub.com\/?p=142102"},"modified":"2023-10-07T08:15:51","modified_gmt":"2023-10-07T08:15:51","slug":"forgotten-arsenal-ace-who-played-once-was-released-twice-but-kept-going-to-training-and-retired-at-24-after-humiliation-the-sun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity-hub.com\/sport\/forgotten-arsenal-ace-who-played-once-was-released-twice-but-kept-going-to-training-and-retired-at-24-after-humiliation-the-sun\/","title":{"rendered":"Forgotten Arsenal ace who played once was released twice but kept going to training and retired at 24 after humiliation | The Sun"},"content":{"rendered":"

A FORMER Arsenal prodigy was released TWICE by Arsene Wenger – but he still kept training with the club.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Now 40-year-old Carlin Itonga joined the Gunners academy aged 10 and the ex-striker helped fire them to FA Youth Cup glory in 2001.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

His fine goalscoring form, which included SEVEN <\/strong>goals against Ipswich Town in one U19 game, was eventually rewarded with a first-team opportunity.<\/p>\n

Wenger brought Itonga off the bench in a 4-0 League Cup win over Manchester United in November 2001 – and that was just reward for a man that had refused to accept being released twice by the Gunners.<\/p>\n

Discussing his Highbury bow with Planet Football, he said: \u201cIt was a dream come true.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was released by Arsenal twice. But I kept on turning up for training.<\/p>\n

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\u201cFrom the centre of excellence, I didn\u2019t get picked. I just kept coming back for training. It wasn\u2019t just me, Rohan Ricketts as well, and my cousin Cedric. The only one they picked was Jermaine Brown.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe carried on playing Sunday football in South London and there was interest from clubs like Wimbledon, Charlton and Millwall, but we just thought Arsenal was too big.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just wanted to keep coming back. And after, we started improving and we all eventually got a scholarship with Jermaine.\u201d<\/p>\n

He continued: \u201cI wasn\u2019t surprised because I always believed in my own ability.<\/p>\n

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\u201cAlong the way there, I was breaking records (in the youth team) but it never seemed to get mentioned. I think I was underrated a bit, people who were in front of me were nowhere near as good as me but they were pushed on.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, unfortunately for the hotshot, that brief outing would be his only appearance for the club.<\/p>\n

He failed to make an impact on loan at Sheffield Wednesday, saying: \u201cIt was one of the biggest mistakes. I didn\u2019t want to leave Arsenal.\u201d<\/p>\n

A \u00a3500,000 transfer to Middlesbrough then failed to materialise and in 2002 he decided to leave Arsenal for good when his contract expired.<\/p>\n

A move to Oxford United then ended miserably without him making an appearance before he endured a major \u201cculture shock\u201d after joining non-league Enfield.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was like coming back to Sunday league football,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

A trial with Exeter City resulted in nothing after the Grecians were relegated and then a persistent groin injury scuppered his hopes of landing a permanent deal elsewhere in 2003.<\/p>\n

He did play the final two matches of the campaign for Conference outfit Kettering Town but it was the following season where he says he \u201cfound love for the game again\u201d with Cambridge City.<\/p>\n

However, injury problems resurfaced and he ended up departing for South London side Fisher Athletic in the seventh tier.<\/p>\n

Once again his groin problem flared up and after discovering that he needed to take an eight-month break, Itonga quit the game aged just 24 after feeling humiliated at being subbed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just thought, that\u2019s it, I\u2019m off. I\u2019m done with the game,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I\u2019m being substituted for Fisher Athletic instead of someone I know I\u2019m better than, it\u2019s not for me anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

Having fled DR Congo in 1991 for the UK, he decided to return to his homeland for just the second time in his life and he has been based between there and Camberwell ever since.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cI just fell in love with the country. So for me to keep myself calm and stay out of the limelight, I thought I\u2019d come back home and live for a few years and see how things will work out for me.<\/p>\n

\u201cI went and did a few bits at some academies, talking about football. Since then, I\u2019ve been back and forth and mostly now I\u2019m now based in Camberwell.\u201d<\/p>\n

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And even though he appears to be in a happy place mentally these days, he did issue a warning for all aspiring youngsters.<\/p>\n

Itonga added: \u201cIt\u2019s been hard. There\u2019s been some depression there. All my life was about football. When that ends, trust me, if you\u2019re not strong, it can destroy you.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Source: Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A FORMER Arsenal prodigy was released TWICE by Arsene Wenger – but he still kept training with the club. Now 40-year-old Carlin Itonga joined the Gunners academy aged 10 and the ex-striker helped fire them to FA Youth Cup glory in 2001. His fine goalscoring form, which included SEVEN goals against Ipswich Town in one […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":142101,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nForgotten Arsenal ace who played once was released twice but kept going to training and retired at 24 after humiliation | The Sun - Celebrity-hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/celebrity-hub.com\/sport\/forgotten-arsenal-ace-who-played-once-was-released-twice-but-kept-going-to-training-and-retired-at-24-after-humiliation-the-sun\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Forgotten Arsenal ace who played once was released twice but kept going to training and retired at 24 after humiliation | The Sun - Celebrity-hub\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A FORMER Arsenal prodigy was released TWICE by Arsene Wenger – but he still kept training with the club. 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