You can't win anything with kids, that now infamous quote made on Match of the Day by Alan Hansen back on the opening day of the 1995 season in reference to Manchester United's class of 92's losing start to their Premier league campaign. The rest of course is history.
The quote, although 27 years old, seems much more relevant now in an era dominated by big spending that it did at the time it was made.
So with Arsenal's apparent lack of funds will Unai Emery be forced to turn to the current crop of young players such as Nelson, Willock, Nketiah and Saka to help push the Gunners back into the Champions league.
Just like the transfer market there are no guarantees when promoting youth players, it is of course however it is considerably less expensive.
Arsenal's last promising youth team was in 2000, winning the FA Youth Cup with a 6-2 aggregate victory over Liverpool. The Gunners were captained by the only player that really made it at Arsenal, Jack Wilshere.
Other hopefuls in that team such as, Eastmond, Frimpong, Lansbury, Coquelin, Sanu and Emmanuel-Thomas all failed to make the grade. Coquelin of course came the closest, winning the FA Cup in 2015. If proof was ever needed just how hard it is for youth players to permanently break into the first team of a big club then look no further than that team of 2000.
A study that took place in April 2018 stated that only 1 in 200 academy players will make it in the first team, that's 0.50%. Not exactly a number to be encouraged by.
Arsenal’s last golden era of academy players was a whopping 37 years ago. In 1982 the Gunners youth team consisted of, Tony Adams, David Rocastle (R.I.P), Michael Thomas, Niall Quinn and Paul Merson. All Five of whom were in the Arsenal squad for the famous 1988/89 season.
There have been others along the way of course, but not even some of the highly rated succeeded. The likes of Fabrice Muamba, Jerome Thomas, Jay Bothroyd and Fran Merida were all expected to make the grade but ultimately failed to do so.
So what can we expect from the current crop of youngsters? Are they Arsenal’s next class of 82 or will they become just another statistic?
Eddie Nketiah - Age 20
Centre forward Nketiah burst onto the scene In 2017 scoring 2 goals on his Arsenal debut against Norwich in the League cup. However it took another 16 appearances for Nketiah to find the net again. He did miss several good chances whilst playing in the Europa League last season. With Abameyang and Lacazette in front of him it will again be the cup competitions that the striker will get the most of his chances. He will need a much better goal return in order to stop Arsenal from moving on from him next summer especially since the Gunners signed young Brazilian, Gabriel Martinelli. Nketiah has had a good pre-season so far.
Bukayo Saka - Age 17
The young winger has only had a handful of first team minutes so far but he could be the most promising of Arsenal's current youngsters. Skill, pace and power all assets that Saka has that would make him Premier league worthy. Saka has 22 goals and 17 assists in his 54 youth appearances. Saka may make some cup appearances this season but I highly doubt we will see him in the Premier league.
Joe Willock - Age 19
Willock made only 5 appearances for the first team last season but appears to have been earmarked by Emery as an important part of the first team squad. Willock's performances in pre-season so far have earned rave reviews. After Arsenal’s recent friendly against Real Madrid, when asked who impressed him, coach Zinedine Zidane was quoted as saying:
Zidane: "Ozil was impressive as always, but the player who impressed me the most was the midfielder, Willock. He handled the tempo of the game and showed important physical traits. A top talent for sure."
This is one player that we expect to see much more of in the first team this coming season.
Riess Nelson - Age 19
The young winger had a reasonably successful season on loan at Hoffenhiem, whilst in Germany, Nelson scored 7 goals in 23 appearances but perhaps worryingly registered no assists. It has been rumored that Nelson has been offered as part of an exchange deal for Wilfred Zaha. Despite Nelson making 14 appearances for the first team and although mostly as a substitute they have been uneventful. You have to feel like this is a make or break season for Nelson at Arsenal.
Emile Smith-Rowe - Age 18
Like Nelson, Smith-Rowe went on loan to Germany in the second half of last season but injury limited him to just 3 appearances. Smith-Rowe showed lots of promise when appearing for Arsenal in the Europa league, scoring once. Another loan is probably on the cards for Smith-Rowe before we will see him push for more first team games, but he is certainly expected to make it.
@DaveFalconUK
The quote, although 27 years old, seems much more relevant now in an era dominated by big spending that it did at the time it was made.
So with Arsenal's apparent lack of funds will Unai Emery be forced to turn to the current crop of young players such as Nelson, Willock, Nketiah and Saka to help push the Gunners back into the Champions league.
Just like the transfer market there are no guarantees when promoting youth players, it is of course however it is considerably less expensive.
Arsenal's last promising youth team was in 2000, winning the FA Youth Cup with a 6-2 aggregate victory over Liverpool. The Gunners were captained by the only player that really made it at Arsenal, Jack Wilshere.
Other hopefuls in that team such as, Eastmond, Frimpong, Lansbury, Coquelin, Sanu and Emmanuel-Thomas all failed to make the grade. Coquelin of course came the closest, winning the FA Cup in 2015. If proof was ever needed just how hard it is for youth players to permanently break into the first team of a big club then look no further than that team of 2000.
A study that took place in April 2018 stated that only 1 in 200 academy players will make it in the first team, that's 0.50%. Not exactly a number to be encouraged by.
Arsenal’s last golden era of academy players was a whopping 37 years ago. In 1982 the Gunners youth team consisted of, Tony Adams, David Rocastle (R.I.P), Michael Thomas, Niall Quinn and Paul Merson. All Five of whom were in the Arsenal squad for the famous 1988/89 season.
There have been others along the way of course, but not even some of the highly rated succeeded. The likes of Fabrice Muamba, Jerome Thomas, Jay Bothroyd and Fran Merida were all expected to make the grade but ultimately failed to do so.
So what can we expect from the current crop of youngsters? Are they Arsenal’s next class of 82 or will they become just another statistic?
Eddie Nketiah - Age 20
Centre forward Nketiah burst onto the scene In 2017 scoring 2 goals on his Arsenal debut against Norwich in the League cup. However it took another 16 appearances for Nketiah to find the net again. He did miss several good chances whilst playing in the Europa League last season. With Abameyang and Lacazette in front of him it will again be the cup competitions that the striker will get the most of his chances. He will need a much better goal return in order to stop Arsenal from moving on from him next summer especially since the Gunners signed young Brazilian, Gabriel Martinelli. Nketiah has had a good pre-season so far.
Bukayo Saka - Age 17
The young winger has only had a handful of first team minutes so far but he could be the most promising of Arsenal's current youngsters. Skill, pace and power all assets that Saka has that would make him Premier league worthy. Saka has 22 goals and 17 assists in his 54 youth appearances. Saka may make some cup appearances this season but I highly doubt we will see him in the Premier league.
Joe Willock - Age 19
Willock made only 5 appearances for the first team last season but appears to have been earmarked by Emery as an important part of the first team squad. Willock's performances in pre-season so far have earned rave reviews. After Arsenal’s recent friendly against Real Madrid, when asked who impressed him, coach Zinedine Zidane was quoted as saying:
Zidane: "Ozil was impressive as always, but the player who impressed me the most was the midfielder, Willock. He handled the tempo of the game and showed important physical traits. A top talent for sure."
This is one player that we expect to see much more of in the first team this coming season.
Riess Nelson - Age 19
The young winger had a reasonably successful season on loan at Hoffenhiem, whilst in Germany, Nelson scored 7 goals in 23 appearances but perhaps worryingly registered no assists. It has been rumored that Nelson has been offered as part of an exchange deal for Wilfred Zaha. Despite Nelson making 14 appearances for the first team and although mostly as a substitute they have been uneventful. You have to feel like this is a make or break season for Nelson at Arsenal.
Emile Smith-Rowe - Age 18
Like Nelson, Smith-Rowe went on loan to Germany in the second half of last season but injury limited him to just 3 appearances. Smith-Rowe showed lots of promise when appearing for Arsenal in the Europa league, scoring once. Another loan is probably on the cards for Smith-Rowe before we will see him push for more first team games, but he is certainly expected to make it.
@DaveFalconUK
Comments
Post a Comment