General Reserves Talk

[MutableEarth]

I think we shouldn't get hung up on certain players. Nelson has shown flashes of brilliance at the top level. His finishes and dribbling have been exquisite. He has shown that he can finish at the top level. ESR, Willock and Nketiah have also displayed it.

However, Amaechi and Saka have not yet shown this ability. Saka missed a sitter and Amaechi couldn't really create an opportunity to score in a meaningless friendly.

They are talented, but it doesn't mean it translates to first team opportunities just because they are better than kids their own age.

What I would say is that Saka is far more direct. He runs at you, once he is past you he doesn't let up. He rides challenges. Amaechi to me is more like Nelson, but I feel that Nelson has much better shooting technique and passing. If he chooses to leave he could end up like Chris Willock or he could end up like Gnabry, but with us being in the Europa, he should get more first team opportunities.

I feel like ESR will get the opportunity this year. He has everything needed to play that pressing 10 and his first touch when receiving the ball is immaculate as well as his shooting. I would invest more in a number 8 who is physical and can win the midfield duels as well as add speed to the midfield. The advanced midfielder can be shared between the young players with hopefully one of them really taking their opportunity.

I agree with the bolded but I'd caveat that by pointing out that I'd rather dstill try them than the same old failures. With Amaechi, he's my favorite of the 3 so I admittedly have a bias - he's not really like Nelson, he's sort of inbetween him and Saka. Ultimately, I still think he will leave, and I think he'll be very successful as long as he's given opportunities to play, and I think he'll get that when he leaves. Hopefully he stays however, as I would hope Emery will give him and Saka more games.

Fully agree on Smith-Rowe though - I think he can prosper here next season as either an 8 or a 10, most likely a 10.

I watched Smith-Rowe’s 3 cameos this season out on loan, he’s ready to explode. He played as an 8 in the last game of the season when he got subbed on and was good in that role.

He’s technically brilliant.

8 is definitely a position where I think he can thrive. Definitely the kind of technician we need to have in the team.

 

[SingmeasongSong]

I agree with the bolded but I'd caveat that by pointing out that I'd rather dstill try them than the same old failures. With Amaechi, he's my favorite of the 3 so I admittedly have a bias - he's not really like Nelson, he's sort of inbetween him and Saka. Ultimately, I still think he will leave, and I think he'll be very successful as long as he's given opportunities to play, and I think he'll get that when he leaves. Hopefully he stays however, as I would hope Emery will give him and Saka more games.

Fully agree on Smith-Rowe though - I think he can prosper here next season as either an 8 or a 10, most likely a 10.


8 is definitely a position where I think he can thrive. Definitely the kind of technician we need to have in the team.

Dont care what some people on here say, I'd take a team with 5-6 of our youth talents playing every second game in the league over anything.

Imagine the excitement before a match.
That thrill you have when you see your very own kids making progress, playing with levity and seeing a kid come good you always knew would eventually explode, if given the chance.

I would even be fine with spending no more than 40. Buy Saliba, that kabak kid from Stuttgart and Maurice + a young promising LB and be done with it.

-- -- Leno -- --
Bellerin -- Saliba -- Holding -- ??
-- Xhaka -- Torreira --
Reiss -- ESR -- PEA
-- Laca --

Subs/Regular Rotation:

Nketiah for Laca
Saka+Amaechi for PEA and Reiss
Tutu and Koa for young LB.
AMN for Bellerin
Matteo + Willock for Xhaka and Torreira
Kabak + Sokratis for Saliba and Holding
Özil + Maurice for ESR

I would enjoy watching any of those day in day out. No frustrating subs no more.

 

[Hunta]

Nketiah and Willock both scored as England lost 3-2 to Portugal in the Toulon tournament.

Nketiah was a class apart along with Reece James. His work rate is fantastic, needs a good loan next season.

 

[MutableEarth]

Nketiah and Willock both scored as England lost 3-2 to Portugal in the Toulon tournament.

Nketiah was a class apart along with Reece James. His work rate is fantastic, needs a good loan next season.

That U20 team not the best IMO. Was very disjointed. Reece James hit some really nice passes but thought his defending has been better.

Willock and Nketiah were both pretty good but Willock definitely didn't influence the game as much as he has done this season because he was so far forward for some reason. Should have been deeper. Nketiah had a great game though; showed for everything, ran the channels, good dribbling and was a real threat.

He either needs a good loan or he needs to play here. One of the two, but he needs to be playing. Same with Willock. Too good for U23s now, no use to them. Need challenging.

 

[Hunta]

Looking forward to the next u21 cycle after this summers Euros. Abraham, Solanke and Calvert-Lewin will no longer be eligible and there’s a real lack of strikers bar Nketiah. He should be first choice as long as he’s playing.

Nelson will be there, Nketiah, Smith Rowe and Willock should be involved too, game time is crucial though.

Imagine having four proper gooners there.

 

[Aevi]

I keep seeing Ajax mentioned as a club to emulate by bringing in young players but we definitely have the ability to do that from within like Ajax actually does it. Nketiah, Nelson, Smith-Rowe (my personal favorite), and Willock have shown they can contribute in some capacity now, and I'd love to see them in more games as at least sub options that are actually called upon. Saka and Ameachi are maybe farther away, one of them would possibly need a quality loan.

Emery needs to make more use of them next season. Use of our academy, which has shown itself to be strong, is a must with any manager we have. It's important not only given our limited budget but because it's also engrained in our club to do so imo.

 

[Hunta]

I keep seeing Ajax mentioned as a club to emulate by bring in young players but we definitely have the ability to do that from within like Ajax actually does it. Nketiah, Nelson, Smoth-Rowe (my personal favorite), and Willock have shown they can contribute in some capacity now, and I'd love to see them in more games as at least sub options that are actually called upon. Saka and Ameachi are maybe farther away, one of them would possibly need a quality loan.

Emery needs to make more use of them next season. Use of our academy, which has shown itself to be strong, is a must with any manager we have. It's important not only given our limited budget but because it's also engrained in our club to do so imo.

17/18 = PL2 champions, u18 runners up
18/19 = PL2 runners up, u18 champions

If we don’t use these lads we might as well shut the academy down.

 

[Football Manager]

I keep seeing Ajax mentioned as a club to emulate by bringing in young players but we definitely have the ability to do that from within like Ajax actually does it. Nketiah, Nelson, Smith-Rowe (my personal favorite), and Willock have shown they can contribute in some capacity now, and I'd love to see them in more games as at least sub options that are actually called upon. Saka and Ameachi are maybe farther away, one of them would possibly need a quality loan.

Emery needs to make more use of them next season. Use of our academy, which has shown itself to be strong, is a must with any manager we have. It's important not only given our limited budget but because it's also engrained in our club to do so imo.

How do you know if they are the best talents?
I love to see young players being given the opportunity to shine.But are they fabregas/gnabry/a.cole quality?

Giving young players opportunity is not a problem. If we are willing to drop a few points and play the true talented youngsters, I’m up for it. However, we are not going to play overrated youngsters and lost 20 points a season. You can’t just overrate your young players, giving them game time and hope for the best.

What makes you believe that Nketiah is better than Akpom? Point that out, which second in this video makes you think he is better?

Guendouzi/AMN are not fabregas/a.cole standard but they still have a lot of game time under Emery. Nelson is obviously the better talent out of this batch of young players. And I do expect him to play more in the coming season.

 

[Tourbillion]

I was gutted we didn't give Chuba a proper go of it. Big talent.

 

[hydrofluoric acid]

I love how people always think that when youngsters are given chance it automatically means that we are dropping points. Sweet Jesus.

 

[Maybe]

I was gutted we didn't give Chuba a proper go of it. Big talent.

Chuba was a classic example when a player abuses his physical attributes at younger age instead of developing his game. Benik Afobe would be another example of doing that.
I like our new forwards more, both Balogun and Nketiah have excellent understanding of the game, and Jules also developed into a fine versatile forward. All 3 of them worked on their finishing and technique while Chuba was more happy to outrun defenders. They will have better chance at the top level than Chuba did.

 

[Maybe]

I keep seeing Ajax mentioned as a club to emulate by bringing in young players but we definitely have the ability to do that from within like Ajax actually does it. Nketiah, Nelson, Smith-Rowe (my personal favorite), and Willock have shown they can contribute in some capacity now, and I'd love to see them in more games as at least sub options that are actually called upon. Saka and Ameachi are maybe farther away, one of them would possibly need a quality loan.

Emery needs to make more use of them next season. Use of our academy, which has shown itself to be strong, is a must with any manager we have. It's important not only given our limited budget but because it's also engrained in our club to do so imo.

It will also keep us away from buying average squad players on 80k/w contracts who don't bring anything to the table. Would rather see us going for one/two world class players with all the money we have and fill squad roles with academy players (doesn't have to be only our academy) than spreading money to fill squad roles and being unable to buy big boys.

 

[hydrofluoric acid]

https://arseblog.news/2019/06/video...-u20s/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook

Nketiah and Willock score in a loss against Portugal 3-2.

 

[Tourbillion]

Chuba was a classic example when a player abuses his physical attributes at younger age instead of developing his game. Benik Afobe would be another example of doing that.
I like our new forwards more, both Balogun and Nketiah have excellent understanding of the game, and Jules also developed into a fine versatile forward. All 3 of them worked on their finishing and technique while Chuba was more happy to outrun defenders. They will have better chance at the top level than Chuba did.

Akpom always looked technically accomplished when I saw him though.

 

[MutableEarth]

It's official, Vontae Daley-Campbell is gone. Not a shock, but still disappointing. Best RB prospect at the club IMO. Also leaves us pretty short in both full-back positions throughout the academy. I can see quite a few CMs and wingers being converted before long. We've already turned Zak Swanson into a full-back.

 

[Hunta]

It's official, Vontae Daley-Campbell is gone. Not a shock, but still disappointing. Best RB prospect at the club IMO. Also leaves us pretty short in both full-back positions throughout the academy. I can see quite a few CMs and wingers being converted before long. We've already turned Zak Swanson into a full-back.

**** news, as you say it’s been known that he was wanted for a while.

Need to offer Amaechi a good deal and a plan similar to Nelson so he doesn’t leave next year.

 

[Hunta]

Apparently both Saka and Amaechi’s contracts run to 2020.

It’s gonna be one or the other isn’t it? ****.

 

[MutableEarth]

Chuba was a classic example when a player abuses his physical attributes at younger age instead of developing his game. Benik Afobe would be another example of doing that.
I like our new forwards more, both Balogun and Nketiah have excellent understanding of the game, and Jules also developed into a fine versatile forward. All 3 of them worked on their finishing and technique while Chuba was more happy to outrun defenders. They will have better chance at the top level than Chuba did.

Just catching up on this discussion of Akpom v Nketiah and I think a major difference between the two of them is Nketiah's cleverness, work-rate and will to make an impact/even dominate defenders. Chuba was always talented but didn't make great decisions at crucial times - especially when the pressure was on and he was desperate. The only time Nketiah's really looked vulnerable in the same way was against Blackpool where he missed 3-4 very good chances that he normally would have taken.

I'm a big fan of Chuba and always thought he was talented, but Nketiah - while not as flamboyant a dribbler - is of a similar technical level, a better finisher and a more well-rounded game as a CF. Balogun seems to be a player with elements of both Nketiah and Akpom, particularly when it comes to dribbling and running the channels, while John-Jules is probably the one who stands out from the others because he's more adept in deeper-lying positions.

The attackers we have at youth level are all rounded and have interesting skillsets we can take advantage of.

**** news, as you say it’s been known that he was wanted for a while.

Need to offer Amaechi a good deal and a plan similar to Nelson so he doesn’t leave next year.

Yeah, Daley-Campbell was an early candidate to leave the setup before turning pro because of how many teams were scouting him among others. Amaechi as far as I know has been watched since his breakthrough into the U18s, which surely would have intensified as his star turn in the U17Euro tournament came not long after Jadon Sancho's big move to Dortmund. His success has surely made people want to find the next Sancho and stylistically Amaechi is a close bet - maybe not as much of a playmaker but still someone who can create a lot of chances and be a big final 3rd threat.

Arsenal could still offer him a spot - that RW spot is looking pretty dire considering we have quite a few wide players who prefer to play from the left or even in central positions. Smith-Rowe and Nelson are both players who will likely move to central positions in the future (less so in Nelson's case but he drifts in often anyway), while Saka is predominantly a LW who can play RW from time to time. Amaechi on the other hand is predominantly a RW - we can still offer him a lot if he decides to stay.

 

[MutableEarth]

Apparently both Saka and Amaechi’s contracts run to 2020.

It’s gonna be one or the other isn’t it? ****.

Saka will probably sign a new deal this Summer. He signed pro almost immediately after his scholarship so I'm certain his run is actually when he turns 19 in 2021. Amaechi is born in 2001 so his run will be next Summer. Saka will be fine IMO, he's already made stronger in-roads to the first team and the club clearly think extremely highly of him given he has actually started a competitive match. Amaechi is the most vulnerable - he got an ill-time injury, clawed his way back in style and didn't even get a cameo to show for it. He may look at his chances of playing first team football as being scarce if he stays because of the competition - particularly if we bring in some wingers AND keep Iwobi and *Mhkitaryan as wide players. It could look like:

New winger, new winger, Iwobi, Nelson, Saka, Smith-Rowe, Amaechi.

Now, hopefully Ljungberg has more sway and he can advise Emery that the best way to use them would be to move some into central positions i.e. Iwobi/Smith-Rowe central. Then we have 1 or 2 new wingers with Nelson, Saka and Amaechi behind them. One other possibility is if we can promise him a good loan and a real progression into first team football if the loan is a success but that's a tough sell nowadays.

Not sure how it will play out.

 

[hydrofluoric acid]

We are losing so many talents that we should be getting at least 3-5 M for if we actually had them on contracts. This need fixing.