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da cassino： Arsenal have endured a sad end to their league campaign, taking one point from a possible 12 in the race for a top four finish. The string of poor results have left many fans demanding serious investment in the squad this summer, but Arsenal should be looking more towards their academy, something the red side of North London have grown significantly worse at doing year on year.
Once upon a time ex-manager Arsene Wenger and his side were heralded for their promotion of youth prospects, not just for simply giving them the chance but for genuinely developing them into real talents – Cesc Fabregas being the obvious example.
Since then though, Arsenal have moved so far away from their own model of promoting the upcoming talent that it’s left senior players far too comfortable in their positions. Shkodran Mustafi has had his worst season in a red shirt, with Granit Xhaka and Henrikh Mkhitaryan looking just marginally better, but Unai Emery’s unwillingness to drop them for younger prospects means the club are persevering with players who have proven they’re simply not good enough.
In recent years we’ve seen young academy graduates like Serge Gnabry and Wojciech Szczesny leave the club due to a lack of game time and opportunities, while the Gunners have persisted with average and experienced options like Petr Cech and Theo Walcott, and this worrying trend looks set to continue. Gnabry and Szczesny are now enjoying glittering careers at Bayern Munich and Juventus respectively.
It goes without saying that Emery can’t give chances to youngsters just for the sake of it, but perhaps what’s so frustrating about this is that the prospects are there and ready.
Emile Smith-Rowe looked a very accomplished player and mature beyond his years in his bit-part role for the Gunners until January, and it doesn’t take a genius to work out that Reiss Nelson has a promising career to come as well – yet both have had to move on loan for more game time. With Aaron Ramsey leaving Arsenal, the serious lack of depth in the squad and the fact Emery’s men were contesting Europa League football, was this not the perfect time to embed these talents?
The sad truth is that managers don’t have the time to take risks and youngsters are so hungry to play regularly that they’ll take the opportunity of a loan move. But it only makes one fear for Joe Willock, Jordi Osei-Tutu, Dinos Mavropanos and Eddie Nketiah, all of whom have looked very bright in brief appearances for the North London club.
Arsenal were once renowned for their brave stance on youth prospects, but they’ve moved so far away from that old perception in recent years. Hector Bellerin and Alex Iwobi prove that there’s still hope the very best will get the chances that they deserve, though it’s certainly got a lot harder at Arsenal than ever before. Despite all the highs and lows on the pitch, many of which you can excuse, failing to develop the talents they have has surely got to be considered the biggest failure of Arsenal’s recent history.