Former Chelsea center-back, Kenneth Omeruo, has revealed the reason Arsenal star, Eberechi Eze was released by the club in 2011, when he was a young star.

Omeruo, who was also a product of a European academy, said the academies are tough should a player not meet their expectations.

According to him to the former Chelsea player, European clubs do not hesitate to release those who fail to progress.

Citing Eze, who signed for his boyhood club in the summer, Omeruo said the midfielder was allowed to leave because he did not meet the required benchmark at the time.

“In Europe, every club has the U10s and U11s, and they graduate,” Omeruo said on Arise News.

“Every year, there’s screening; if you don’t get to the next level, they take you out.

“For example, you know the story of Ebere [Eze] now playing for Arsenal. When he was in Arsenal, he couldn’t make it to the next level.

“It doesn’t mean that he wasn’t good enough or he would not get to that level, which he did at some point.”

Omeruo insisted that Eze’s setback was less about a lack of talent and more about the depth of competition within elite academies.

“There are other players who were better than him then, so if you can’t get to the next level, you can go to another academy.”

After leaving Arsenal, Eze went to Fulham, Reading and Queens Park Rangers where continued his development

He rose to prominence at QPR, earning a move to Premier League side Crystal Palace.