JERMAINE PENNANT has lifted the lid on the Arsenal wonderkid that “could have been the next Dennis Bergkamp”.
The former winger, 41, was part of an impressive crop of Gunners academy starlets in the early 2000s.
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Pennant went on to star for Liverpool, playing in the 2007 Champions League final.
Among his academy team-mates were also future Premier League stars Steve Sidwell, Jay Bothroyd, Jeremie Aliadiere and Jerome Thomas.
But speaking at the launch of Ladbrokes’ “Gaffer of all Accas”, Pennant has revealed that a less heralded member of the team could have gone all the way in the game.
He said: “I look back at my team-mates in the academy, and pretty much everyone went on to have pretty good careers.
“And the ones that didn’t really kick on, and maybe stayed in the lower tiers, were all probably fair.
“You know, if you look at who was in my team, there was myself, Jerome [Thomas], David Bentley, Steve Sidwell, Jeremie Aliadiere, Jay Bothroyd… these were all guys who went on to have successful careers at the top, playing in the Premier League.
“And you’d have identified all of us in that youth set-up at the time and said we’d have gone on to have good careers.
“There’s probably one player who springs to mind for me, who didn’t live up to the expectation: David Noble.
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“I thought he was going to be the next Dennis Bergkamp. He was unbelievable. He could’ve had a huge career.
“I don’t know what happened there, really; I don’t know whether it was injuries, or a bit of bad luck, or was his heart really in it, to make it even further than he did?
“Yeah, he made it as a professional, but not as a Premier League player, and he easily could have.
“Did he really care? I don’t know. But he’s the one from that generation who surprises me, when I think about the career he could have gone on to have.”
Hitchin-born Noble, now 42, never made a first team appearance for Arsenal, leaving for West Ham in 2003 following a loan spell at Watford.
After just four outings for the East Londoners he was on the move again – signing for Boston United.
The midfielder went on to have a long EFL career, representing Bristol City, Yeovil, Exeter, Rotherham and Cheltenham.
In 2016 he signed for sixth-tier St Albans, where he stayed as a player for six years before becoming their manager in 2022.
He worked as City boss for two years, before landing the Wealdstone job in the National League in January this year.
Noble was sacked after just 73 days in charge of the Stones, having won three of his 17 games at the helm.
Following his Wealdstone axe he returned to St Albans, where he remains boss.
While Noble never played in the Premier League, he did come to within 90 minutes of promotion to the top flight.
He was part of the Bristol City team that reached the 2008 Championship play-off final, even scoring in the semi-final triumph over Crystal Palace.
Noble started the Wembley showpiece, only for Bristol City to be beaten 1-0 by Dean Windass’ thunderbolt for Hull.
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