Former Arsenal academy star Chuks Aneke has announced his retirement from football at the age of 33.

Aneke joined Arsenal at the age of seven and spent 13 years at the club, but made just one first-team appearance: a late cameo in a 3-1 League Cup win over Shrewsbury Town in 2011. Ironically, Shrewsbury went on to be the final club of his career.

He confirmed the news on Instagram on Wednesday, writing: “It was all part of an amazing journey and I wouldn’t change it. Looking forward to the Second Half.”

For those who remember, Aneke is one of the great what-ifs from that period in the Arsenal academy. Arsenal youth expert Jeorge Bird described him as “one of the standout players I have seen at youth level”, and his former manager Arsene Wenger was also a huge believer of his ability.

Arsene Wenger compared Chuks Aneke to Yaya Toure

Aneke came through alongside Benik Afobe. In 2010, Steve Bould, then the head coach of the U18s academy side, said the pair were “two of the best in England” at their age.

A year later, Wenger went even further, saying Aneke “is a bit like Yaya Toure – he has body power and good technique”, adding: “We had Yaya here and for me Chuks is a bit similar.”

Profile-wise, Aneke was unique and could’ve been a top player. He was an attacking midfielder with soft feet and a pass-first mindset, but he was built like a centre-back. Wenger even tried him in defence during pre-season in 2013.

Why Chuks Aneke never made it at Arsenal

A lot of it came down to timing. By the time Aneke was pushing for a chance, Arsenal’s attacking midfield included Mesut Ozil, Santi Cazorla, Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey. There was quite simply little room for a raw and unproven youngster still finding his feet.

Loan spells at Stevenage, Preston and Crewe followed. His 24 goals across two spells at Crewe earned him a move to Zulte Waregem after Arsenal released him in 2014. However, a serious knee injury in Belgium ended his 2015-16 season at 22, and unfortunately, that really derailed his momentum.

Afobe didn’t make it at Arsenal either, although he did go on to play Premier League football with Bournemouth.

Back in England, Aneke reinvented himself. The silky number 10 became a powerful striker and impact substitute. He scored 19 goals as MK Dons won promotion in 2018-19, and later helped Charlton win promotion through the League One play-offs in 2025.

He finishes his career with 94 goals in 414 games and has already moved into a scouting and analysis role at Shrewsbury.