GUEST WRITER
Arsenal youth must grab their chance to break into first-team
SWAP welcomes lifelong Gunner David Seager to tell us why he thinks Freddie Ljunberg’s promotion could help the youngsters.
Many Arsenal fans this summer are, on the one side are concerned at the apparent lack of funds available for Emery to strengthen.
And on the other side, excited by Freddie Ljungberg’s promotion and the club’s statement on promoting from an exciting group of the U23’s top performers.
Yes, all Gunner’s want to see their beloved team back at the top, fighting for the major silverware but we are also not naïve.
The current self-sustaining business model was built for a club playing Champions League football and the reality is for the third campaign Arsenal are not eating at the top table.
Whilst many find this depressing and this is understandable, it does potentially have a silver lining because all supporters love cheering on one of their own and with limited funds for majors, we all hope that Emery and Ljungberg can pull a few rabbits out of the Arsenal homegrown hat.
Fans of a certain age will always harken back to the late eighties when Arsenal took on the might of Liverpool and overcame them.
First in the League Cup and then in the league, with a first team, in a large part made up of players produced by Arsenal’s academy.
Football in the Premier League era had irreversibly changed and with so much money, the demands for success are high the expectation of results from expenditure are instant.
However, clubs will always produce talent but the question is whether the young players can cut it at the top level or if they will even be given the opportunity to prove it.
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In the last few years though we have witnessed many examples of young players being so talented that their clubs could not ignore them.
The likes of Sterling, Kane, Stones, Alexander-Arnold and most recently Madison and Sancho have all broken through at a very young age and now form the spine of the England team.
What is unusual is several youngsters breaking in to a top Premier League team simultaneously and most good managers will try and blend the precocious talent with senior experience as Graham did in the eighties and Sir Alex Ferguson did in the 1990s.
Therefore the questions for Emery, Ljungberg and Arsenal is can they blend a group of the exciting prospects into the first team squad ahead of the August Premier League kick off? And which ones have the best and most realistic chance?
Reiss Nelson seems the most likely candidate having spent a relatively successful loan season in the Bundesliga, on that back of several cup outings ate home and in Europa in 2017/18.
The slight concern is that despite the headlines of nine goals in only 29 matches for Hoffenheim, the German team only actually started him on 5 occasions and in all his games in a creative attacking role he failed to register and assist.
Those concerns aside, he has more top-flight experience than any of his peers and that must put him at the front if the queue to impress in pre-season.
Joe Willock and Emile Smith Rowe will also be keen to star in pre-season, both having impressed last campaign.
Willock had several opportunities to play with the first team after January but the reality is that thus only happened after Smith Rowe went on loan.
From August to January, it was Smith Rowe who was evidently ahead of Willock in the manager’s thinking as he was given many platforms to show his readiness in the Europa and League Cups, scoring three times in just six outings.
As they are potentially competing for one first team squad position, in attacking midfield, despite Willock’s impressive cameos before the end of the campaign, I think he will get a season on loan in Germany or in the Championship, leaving Smith Rowe his opening.
We can add into the melting pot for pre-season the likes of Krystian Bielik who had a hugely impressive season on loan, helping Charlton win promotion to the second tier.
The young Pole is currently starring for this country in the U21 Euros and I sense his future will be determined by the club’s decision on Calum Chambers, also returning from loan.
Both had wonderful seasons, and both can play either in the centre of the defence or as a defensive midfielder.
Hence, it seems likely that there will be a place for one of the other in the first team set up.
My guess if that the Englishman will want assurances of regular Premier League football, which may lead to an amicable sale and young Bielik being given a new deal, protecting his value, as he is undoubtedly a real talent.
Potentially exciting times when you factor in Saka, Amaechi and even the new arrival from Brazil, Martinelli. They will not all break through at the Arsenal but I sense a few will be given their chance in 2019/20.
