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 U19 game, was eventually rewarded with a first-team opportunity.
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.
Discussing his Highbury bow with Planet Football, he said: “It was a dream come true.
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“I was released by Arsenal twice. But I kept on turning up for training.
“From the centre of excellence, I didn’t get picked. I just kept coming back for training. It wasn’t just me, Rohan Ricketts as well, and my cousin Cedric. The only one they picked was Jermaine Brown.
“We 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.
“We just wanted to keep coming back. And after, we started improving and we all eventually got a scholarship with Jermaine.”
He continued: “I wasn’t surprised because I always believed in my own ability.
“Along 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.”
However, unfortunately for the hotshot, that brief outing would be his only appearance for the club.
He failed to make an impact on loan at Sheffield Wednesday, saying: “It was one of the biggest mistakes. I didn’t want to leave Arsenal.”
A £500,000 transfer to Middlesbrough then failed to materialise and in 2002 he decided to leave Arsenal for good when his contract expired.
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A move to Oxford United then ended miserably without him making an appearance before he endured a major “culture shock” after joining non-league Enfield.
“It was like coming back to Sunday league football,” he said.
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.
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 “found love for the game again” with Cambridge City.
However, injury problems resurfaced and he ended up departing for South London side Fisher Athletic in the seventh tier.
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.
“I just thought, that’s it, I’m off. I’m done with the game,” he said.
“If I’m being substituted for Fisher Athletic instead of someone I know I’m better than, it’s not for me anymore.”
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.
He said: “I just fell in love with the country. So for me to keep myself calm and stay out of the limelight, I thought I’d come back home and live for a few years and see how things will work out for me.
“I went and did a few bits at some academies, talking about football. Since then, I’ve been back and forth and mostly now I’m now based in Camberwell.”
And even though he appears to be in a happy place mentally these days, he did issue a warning for all aspiring youngsters.
Itonga added: “It’s been hard. There’s been some depression there. All my life was about football. When that ends, trust me, if you’re not strong, it can destroy you.”
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